Joseph Theodore Deters (born April 4, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who currently serves as an Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. Early life, family, and education Deters is a lifelong Cincinnatian. He is one of eight children born to Nancy and Donald Deters. His grandfather, Daniel Tehan, was a longtime Hamilton County Sheriff. Deters graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1975. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1979, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1982. Career Deters began his career in public service in 1982 as an Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor. In 1988, after six years as an Assistant Prosecutor, Deters was elected the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts. In 1992, Deters returned to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's office when he was appointed and later elected Prosecuting Attorney. He was subsequently reelected in 1996. In 1999, Deters was sworn in as Ohio's 44th State Treasurer. Deters resigned from office in 2004 amid a pay-to-play scandal that saw Deters's former chief of staff, Matt Borges plead guilty to improper use of a public office. Borges traded campaign contributions for preferential treatment in receiving state contracts. Deters was never implicated or charged in the scheme. In the fall of 2004, Deters became a write-in candidate for his former position, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney. He was elected Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney on November 2, 2004, with nearly 60% of the vote. He was subsequently reelected in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. Deters resigned as Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney after being appointed to the Supreme Court of Ohio in 2023. On April 1, 2005, Deters and Matthias Heck were sued iny their official capacity in a federal lawsuit, Citizens for Tax Reform v. Deters. As Prosecutor, Deters has managed high-profile cases that have attracted national and international attention. In 1987, he led the investigation of Donald Harvey, a convicted serial killer who pleaded guilty to murdering 37 people as apla hospital orderly. Approximately 30 years later, he prosecuted his fifth serial killer, Samuel Little, who murdered two Cincinnati women over the course of a 30-year killing spree. In total, Deters has prosecuted six serial killers. In 2012, Deters was highly critical of Xavier University for expelling Dezmine Wells, one of its basketball players, due to a rape allegation. Prior to the school hearing on the matter,