Joseph Kirby is on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot for Warren County Common Pleas Court judge in the Probate/Juvenile Division. The nonpartisan seat carries a term commencing Feb. 1.

Kirby has served as judge of the division since April 2013, when Governor John Kasich appointed him to the bench, according to the Warren County Common Pleas Court biography. He ran unopposed in both the primary and general elections in 2014 and 2020 to retain the seat.

Editor's note: Kirby has not returned the Mason-Deerfield Times candidate questionnaire. No official campaign website or Ballotpedia page could be located. The information below is drawn from public records and the Warren County court's published biography.

Candidate information

  • Office sought: Warren County Common Pleas Court Judge, Probate/Juvenile Division (Term Commencing 2/1)
  • Party: Nonpartisan
  • Education: Bachelor's degree from Miami University (1986); juris doctor from Northern Kentucky University
  • Admitted to the bar: November 1995, before the Ohio Supreme Court

Experience and public service

Kirby's legal career began in private practice. He was a partner in a family law firm in Springboro whose practice consisted primarily of criminal defense, personal injury and family law, according to the court biography.

He served as a part-time magistrate at Warren County Juvenile Court beginning in 1996. In 2005, Governor Bob Taft appointed him as the Area II judge of Warren County Court, where he presided over misdemeanor criminal, traffic and civil disputes for the southern part of Warren County. He ran unopposed in the 2006 and 2012 general elections to keep that seat.

Before his legal career, Kirby served in the United States Air Force Reserve. He was a duty officer at the Air Terminal Operations Center from 1987 to 1988, then an operations management officer with the 89th Tactical Fighter Squadron from 1988 to 1996, according to the court biography.

Awards and recognition

Kirby received three awards during his time on the bench. Ohio Public Images selected him as the Outstanding Elected Official of the Year in 2015. He was recognized as part of the C-Suite Awards Class of 2018. In 2019, the Warren County Republican Party presented him with the Chairman's Award during the Lincoln-Reagan Day dinner, according to the court biography.

The seat is nonpartisan. Kirby's name appears on the certified general election ballot, according to BallotReady.