Simon L. Leis Jr. (; born June 1934) is a lawyer and local official from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He served as County Prosecutor for Hamilton County (1971–1983), a judge in the Court of Common Pleas (1983–1987), and the county sheriff (1987–2012).

Biography

Leis is the son of Simon Leis Sr., a judge in Common Pleas Court. The younger Leis graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1952. After graduating from

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...

, he served in the

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

, then studied law in night courses at the

Salmon P. Chase College of Law The NKU Chase College of Law (formerly Salmon P. Chase College of Law, also known as Chase College of Law) is the law school of Northern Kentucky University, a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It provides both part-time (day and ...

(now part of

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern K ...

). He was admitted to the bar and began the practice of law as an assistant in the prosecutor's office. In 1971 Simon was appointed County Prosecutor to replace Melvin Reuger, who had resigned to become a judge. He won re-election three times and served until 1983. His term as prosecutor was marked by several events. His 1974 disclosures during a prostitution investigation forced the resignation of City Councilman

Jerry Springer Gerald Norman Springer (born February 13, 1944) is a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, former lawyer, and politician. He hosted the tabloid talk show ''Jerry Springer'' between September 30, 1991 and July 26, 2018, an ...

(although Springer was elected again and later became mayor). Leis led two high-profile trials, both times earning a conviction, and both later overturned by appellate courts. In 1976 he convicted Cincinnati's Police Chief, Carl Goodin, for taking kick-backs. In 1977 he convicted

Larry Flynt Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. (; November 1, 1942 – February 10, 2021) was an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). LFP mainly produces pornographic magazines, such as ''Hustler'', pornographic videos, and three por ...

, the publisher of ''

Hustler Hustler or hustlers may also refer to: Professions * Hustler, an American slang word, e.g., for a: ** Con man, a practitioner of confidence tricks ** Drug dealer, seller of illegal drugs ** Male prostitute ** Pimp ** Business man, more gener ...

'' magazine, on

obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be use ...

charges. This second case was the basis for a 1996 movie, ''

The People vs. Larry Flynt ''The People vs. Larry Flynt'' is a 1996 American Biographical film, biographical drama film directed by Miloš Forman, chronicling the rise of pornographer Larry Flynt and his subsequent clash with religious institutions and the law. It stars Wo ...

'', in which his role was played by political operative

James Carville Chester James Carville Jr. (born October 25, 1944) is an American political consultant, author, and occasional actor who has strategized for candidates for public office in the United States and in at least 23 nations abroad. A Democrat, he is an ...

. Leis retired as Hamilton County Sheriff in 2012, and was succeeded by Jim Neil.

References

External links

Hamilton County Sheriff's Office website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leis, Simon L. Jr. Ohio lawyers Ohio sheriffs Xavier University alumni St. Xavier High School (Ohio) alumni 1934 births Living people