Unmatched experience

  • Support a judge with 24 years of judicial experience.

    Judge Matia has handled thousands of cases and hundreds of trials on Ohio’s busiest bench. In 2017 he served as President of the Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association. He regularly teaches at bar association seminars and has been on the faculty of the National Judicial College. He has addressed national audiences for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (A.A.A.S.) and Treatment Alternatives for Street Crime (T.A.S.C.). A.A.A.S. also flew him to Washington, D.C. to address Members of Congress and their staffers about the opioid epidemic.

  • 2021 Jurist of the Year - Ohio Association for Justice 2018

    President’s Award of Excellence - Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association 2017

    Exemplar Award - Recovery Resources 2016

    C.J. McLin Award - Ohio Justice Alliance for Community Corrections 2016

    United States Department of Justice - Outstanding Contributions to Community Partnerships for Public Safety 2016

  • Support a judge who supports the community.

    Judge Matia does so much more than just call “balls and strikes” from the bench. He founded Cuyahoga County’s first felony drug court in 2008. Over 1000 lives have been improved by drug court. That first docket has now grown to three with another soon to be added. He serves on the boards of The Centers and The Keating Center. He helped bring mountain bike trails to the area by using his influence to join together the Cleveland Metroparks and the Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association. He is most proud of his efforts to help get the County’s Diversion Center off the ground and his advocacy for Medicaid Expansion. Now hundreds of thousands of formerly uninsured Ohioans are covered.

  • Support a judge who really cares.

    Judge Matia’s Drug Court has taken him places few other judges venture. He can be found helping out at treatment centers, leading group therapy sessions and speaking to family groups after work about their loved ones’ substance use disorder. Seeing the potential in each human being and knowing that they can reclaim a productive and enjoyable life motivates him to continue helping others. He has seen depressed individuals enter treatment only to emerge as smiling parents, employees and neighbors. He considers it a privilege to be able to work with others as a drug court judge and proud member of Cuyahoga County’s judiciary.

 
 

See what others have said.

Recovery Resources, as part of its presentation of The Exemplar Award, spoke with some of Judge Matia’s peers.