Hamilton County Republicans will try to replace their most experienced Common Pleas judges this year with three relative newcomers, including two with no judicial experience.

        GOP officials chose the three men Friday to run for the three Common Pleas judicial seats that will be vacated by the end of this year.

        Republican judges Fred Cartolano, Robert Kraft and Thomas Nurre all must retire when their terms end this year.

        Ohio law does not allow the judges to run for a new term because they will turn 70 before that term ends.

        To replace those judges, who together have more than 70 years on the bench, the GOP will turn to much younger candidates with little or no experience as judges.

        They are:

        • Fred Nelson, 43, a Walnut Hills attorney who has served as an associate counsel at the White House and a deputy assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice.

        Mr. Nelson, a Harvard Law School graduate, also is a regular panelist on Hotseat, a Sunday morning show on WCPO-TV (Channel 9) that covers current events and politics.

        • Charles Kubicki Jr., a 39-year-old lawyer who is a partner in the Cincinnati law firm of Santen & Hughes.

        Mr. Kubicki is the former international business manager for Midwest Communications Corp. in Edgewood, Ky. He also has taught courses at the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, his alma mater.

        • Robert Taylor, 53, a municipal court judge. Judge Taylor worked for years as a civil attorney in private practice before joining the Hamilton County prosecutor's office.

        The Republicans also tapped Jim Cissell, now the clerk of courts, to run for judge in Probate Court, a job that becomes open with the retirement this year of Wayne Wilke.

        Although other municipal court judges had expressed interest in the Common Pleas jobs, GOP officials said they were impressed by the experience of the lesser-known Mr. Nelson and Mr. Kubicki.

        GOP Chairman Michael Barrett said all three candidates have strong backgrounds in civil litigation, which covers everything from contract disputes to wrongful death lawsuits.

        Although criminal cases get more attention, civil cases often account for the majority of a judge's workload.

        “A lot of the emphasis is on criminal cases,” Mr. Barrett said. “We're trying to take a more balanced view.”

        Democrats, who often struggle in countywide races against Republicans, said the lack of name recognition among the GOP candidates might level the playing field for their candidates.

        “We think this makes it a little more intriguing than normal,” said Tim Burke, county Democratic Party chairman. He said his party has not decided who will run for the seats.

        Mr. Barrett said the lack of judicial experience will not be a problem.

        “These are thoughtful people and they will be well-financed,” he said. “We'll be tough to beat.”

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