Jacqueline V Gaines Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division

Candidate Details

Residence
Dayton
Email
gaines4judge.jacqueline@gmail.com
Website
gaines4judge.com
Social Media
instagram.com/gainesforjudge
facebook.com/people/Jacqueline-Gaines/pfbid0oaQJcDRowguntdi1yug33HknzVsduYdMdGN8ZWq699SRAU53MoQ4QJweva23vXSHl
Age
44
Occupation
Full-Time Magistrate, Adjunct Professor
Education
Maurer School of Law, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, JD 2004

DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, BA 2001
Work Experience
1. Magistrate, Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, Domestic Relations Division(March 2011-Present)

2.Adjunct Professor, Road to Bar Passage Mentor, University of Dayton School of Law (2018-Present)

3. Adjunct Professor, Maurer School of Law at Indiana University (2021-Present)

4. Adjunct Profesor, Central State University (2010-2012)

5. Litigation Attorney, Sebaly Shillito + Dyer (2008-2010)

6. Litigation Attorney, Faruki+ (2004-2008)

7. Litigation Attorney Externship, Montgomery County Office of the Public Defender (2006)

8. Law Clerk for the Honorable Judge Daniel Tinder, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (Summer 2003)
Family
Married with 2 children, 1 stepchild
Affiliations
1. Oakwood Rotary Club

2. Dayton Lawyers Club

3 Dayton Bar Foundation Fellow

4. Darnall Alumni Fellow, DePauw University

5. Mentor for Magistrate Mentor Program, Ohio Judicial College, Supreme Court of Ohio

6. Qualified Reviewer for Ohio Practice Skills Institute

7. Wills for Heroes Volunteer, Dayton Bar Association

8. Bar Qualifications Committee, Dayton Bar Association

9. Domestic Relations Committee, Dayton Bar Association Immediate Past Co-Chair

10. Freedom Hill Bible Church

11. Smith Elementary School PTO

12. MOMS of Oakwood

13. Non-Profit Clearinghouse Subcommittee of Social Justice Committee, Co-Chair

14. The Mentoring Collaborative of Montgomery County, Board Member

15. League of Women Voters, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee

16. NAACP, Dayton Unit

17. Volunteer reader at Dayton Leadership Academies

18. Volunteer, Leader in Her, Huber Heights Elementary

19.Dayton DEI, Legal Roundtable Steering Committee: Mock Interviewer & Mentor

20. Njoy Njoy

21. Dayton Bar Association Board of Trustees, Past Secretary

22. Montgomery County Public Defender Commission, Past Board Member

23. Advocates for Basic Legal Equality/Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Past Board Member
Endorsements
1. Operative Plasterers Cement Masons, OPMICA132 -Local 132

2. Attorney John H. Rion
3. Rev. Bishop Richard Cox
4. Log Cabin Republicans-Montgomery County
5. Rev. Dr. Terry Hill
6. Attorney Brian Wright
7. Pastor Arthur McGuire
Bar Association Ratings
The Dayton Bar Association does not provide rankings

Jacqueline V Gaines

Question 1

List your judicial experience (courts and years)

I have been a full-time magistrate in the Domestic Relations Court for 13 years (2011-present). I hear and render decisions on over a 1,000 unique cases per year. I preside over evidentiary hearings and render decisions on: contested and non-contested divorces, legal separations, dissolutions, and annulments; motions to establish or modify child support and spousal support; motions to modify custody and parenting time; contempt proceedings; review of administrative orders; domestic violence ex parte and full hearings pursuant to Civ. Rule 65.1; motions involving foreign decrees; Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act filings.

I was a law Clerk for the Honorable Judge Daniel Tinder, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in the Summer 2003.

Question 2

What non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?

I bring empathy and compassion to the family law bench because I am a wife, mother, and step-mother. My role as a wife and mother allows me to be able to relate to litigants' experiences. I truly believe and treat the Court as a service to the citizens of the community, and it is not a business.

I am knowledgeable about how to evaluate businesses and high dollar assets garnered from my private practice business litigation experience. I have extensive contacts throughout the legal community from my private practice experience, many years as a magistrate, and my volunteer and leadership roles with the Dayton Bar Association.

I am visible in the community through my volunteer work through church, school, professional organizations, and civic organization, which allows the community to see that judical officials are approachable and that they are community partners.

Question 3

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

I am running for this seat because I believe that Montgomery County citizens deserve judges that are compassionate, committed to the community, and have a deep knowledge of the law. I believe that the next judge need to recognize and treat the Court as a service to the community, and not operate it as a business. As judge, I will help the Domestic Relations Court be more visible in the community by providing workshops and education to community members on such topics as domestic violence, dating violence, and how the Court operates and functions. I want to help the Court play a role in tackling the mental health and opioid crisis plaguing our community.