He said the award — Gounaris was a well respected probate court judge from Montgomery County — is all about recognizing judges who are fair and respectful of the people who appear before them. They recognized Judge Robert Peeler from the Warren County Common Pleas Court last year.
“We are blessed with a solid judiciary across the board but it’s nice once a year to come up with someone we can recognize for everything they’ve done for the area and the citizens that they serve,” Richards said.
Powers said he was honored to be recognized with this award especially since he knew Gounaris and even practiced in his court.
“It means a lot, it says the people who practice in my court appreciate the job that I’m doing,” he said. “You get some feedback when you’re trial judge, but a lot of times it’s in the form of the court of appeals either affirming you or rejecting you. That’s talking about your legal work, this is talking about the kind of person you are when you’re on the bench, it’s much more personal.”
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Prior to being elected to the bench, Powers was a trial lawyer representing unions, he did criminal defense work, personal injury and malpractice in the nine counties represented by the association that honored him and he was an assistant prosecutor here for 10 years.
He also in the early 2000s served as a councilman and the mayor of Middletown and has been involved in many civic organizations there. He is involved in several statewide judicial organizations and efforts and has been in several “managerial” type roles with the court. He is in charge of appointing new commissioners to the county’s veterans board. But one of his favorite duties is managing the specialized Substance Abuse and Mental Illness (SAMI) docket.
“I think the thing I like most about it is I feel I can make a difference, I can help people, I can help them change their lives,” Powers said. “So often we think that people can’t change their lives and they really can. The most rewarding work I do is in the context of the SAMI docket. That’s a court where I really have an opportunity to get personal with people, to get to know them.”
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