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Gertrude Wilms appointed chief prosecutor of Akron
Published: April 6, 2012
Gertrude Wilms, who has been with the city of Akron Prosecutor’s Office since she was in law school, has been appointed to the position of chief prosecutor. Her appointment was effective on Monday.
The office prosecutes misdemeanor criminal and traffic cases for the municipalities of Richfield, Bath, Mogadore, Springfield, Fairlawn and Akron.
Wilms takes over that position from Doug Powley, who retired after becoming one of the longest-tenured prosecutors in Akron history. He joined the Akron law department in 1984 and became chief prosecutor in 1989.
In a press release, Akron Mayor Donald Plusquellic said of his former campaign manager that, “Gert Wilms has a decade of service with the city as an assistant prosecutor. She has an exemplary work ethic and is as committed to serving the public as anyone I know. She not only has the experience and ability to do this job well, but she has the respect of the judges and defense attorneys with whom she has to work with on a daily basis.”
Wilms is a native of Salem, Ohio. She received her undergraduate degree in in art from The Ohio State University in 1994. She graduated with dual degrees from The University of Akron in 2001—a juris doctor and a master’s in public administration.
Wilms has over 10 years of experience in the Akron City prosecutor’s office. She joined the prosecutor’s office as an intern during her third year of law school.
Before that, while she worked toward her joint degrees at Akron, she was an intern at the Battered Women’s shelter. “The shelter shares offices with the prosecutor,” she said.
It was a natural move for her to come over to the prosecutor; when she arrived there, she began her internships working with domestic violence cases, as well as, she said, “traffic court and general intakes.”
After receiving her law degree in 2002, she stayed with familiar territory in the prosecutor’s office, gradually becoming more and more involved with day-to-day criminal prosecutions.
“Ultimately, I became a full-time prosecutor on the municipal docket,” said Wilms.
Eventually, she said, she was promoted to the position of the primary domestic violence prosecutor. She wrote a grant for federal monies tied to the Violence Against Women Act. Due to budget cuts, however, some jobs were cut, and Wilms found herself back in the courtroom a little over a year ago, covering, she said, “all trials, pretrials,and everything else. Full criminal coverage.”
As she takes her position, Wilms is looking at performing two functions at the same time, for the time being.
Her replacement has not yet been hired, so she will continue her full slate of courtroom duties until the city hires a new prosecutor to take her place. The open position will be posted, and, hopefully, filled as soon as possible.
“We are also looking to hire two interns,” she said. “We are taking applications now.”
Once all of the new hiring is in place, Wilms can fully commit her time to administration. “Eventually, I will oversee the whole office,” she said.
Wilms expects few problems with the transition.
“Doug left the office in extremely good shape,” she said. “The staff is in place. I have been preparing for this position for the last decade, although this is a different perspective.”
And Wilms does not expect this promotion to change her basic approach to her work.
“I expect to maintain the same personality,” she said. “I will try every case on its own merits, its own facts, apply the law and do what is best for the citizens who we represent.”