Page 6 - May June 2023 CBA Report

Cover Article
was a lot to be done before a case even gets to a judge, and I wanted to be a part of that decision-making process.”
The broader context of the lesson was about ensuring fairness from all partici- pating parties — something that has stuck with Trotter Bratton.
“Janaya has taken that understanding to the bench,” said Parker. “She’s gone to the bench with the expectation of the pros- ecutors who come in front of her that they have been fair in every aspect before they even get into her courtroom, and having that expectation there makes sure the tenets under our Constitution are abided by the governmental entity in the case.” In 2009, following a brief stint at the Cincin- nati Metropolitan Housing Authority, she got her chance. On the same day former President Obama was sworn into office, Trotter Bratton began work as an assistant city prosecutor with the City of Cincin- nati. The timing felt auspicious — and it was, even if the city’s financial state and furloughs soon led her to take a job with the firm Ritter & Randolph for a year before opening Trotter Law
Five years on, Trotter Bratton was eager to expand her horizons and move toward her passion for civil rights litiga-
tion. And then came a serendipitous referral — to repre- sent the National NAACP, which was in litigation with the local Cincinnati chapter.
“I took the
case while it was
pending in state
court. After much
brainstorming
and research, I
concluded that for
all the piecemealed
issues being liti-
gated in state court,
the larger issue was trademark infringe- ment. I was able to get the case removed to federal court, and ultimately get the reso- lution my client sought,” she said.
Trotter Bratton was awarded the NAACP’s prestigious Foot Soldier in the Sands Award for her work on the case.
While working on the NAACP case, Trotter Bratton reached out to now Judge Jennifer Branch, whom she’d met while chairing the Hamilton County Demo- cratic Party’s judicial committee. Branch’s
Judge Trotter Bratton and husband William Bratton.
Judge Trotter Bratton took her seat on the municipal court bench in November 2019.
office helped Trotter Bratton with her first federal court filing.
Not long after, an asso- ciate position became open at Gerhardstein & Branch. Exhilarated by the NAACP case, and the potential to do more civil rights work, she joined the firm in 2016.
“Janaya would always go the extra mile to pursue justice in our cases,” said partner and renowned civil rights attorney Al Gerhard- stein. “This meant late nights getting briefs just right, and long days pursuing witnesses in the far corners of the state. I was also immensely impressed by her dedication to her family and mother and to the [developmentally disabled adults] that shared her mother’s and later her own home [after the passing of her mother].”
The three years she spent at the firm were transformative for her — both professionally and personally. Trotter Bratton credits that time with helping her evolve and grow as a law practitioner.
“At Gerhardstein & Branch, excel- lence was the standard,” she said. “It was humbling to go from running my own practice to being an associate, but I am so happy I decided that aspiring to be the best in my profession was more important than my ego. I learned so much and it took my ability to practice law to a new level.”
The atmosphere at Gerhardstein & Branch also provided some respite and understanding when a series of difficult circumstances befell her family.
“While professionally my time at Gerhardstein & Branch was some of my best, personally, those were the hardest three and a half years of my life,” said Trotter Bratton. “My grandmother died during that time, and then my mom died. They gave me the time that I needed, and the balance of support to push me to keep going.”
Trotter Bratton’s mother provided independent living to two developmen- tally disabled adults who had lived with her mother for over fifteen years. After her mother died, Trotter Bratton became their primary caretaker, moving them into her home. And then, because that’s just how life is, a judicial seat came open on the Hamilton County Municipal Court. Becoming a judge was a dream she’d fostered for a few years by this point — one her late mother had foretold.
“My mom used to always tell people I was going to be a judge,” said Trotter