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Akron Municipal Court Administrative/Presiding Judge David Hamilton will be recognized this upcoming Friday with a Harold K. Stubbs Humanitarian Award. The Harold K. Stubbs Awards Celebration, taking place virtually on Friday, April 28, 2023 at 6:30 p.m., will be honoring Judge Hamilton with a Humanitarian Award for his work in law.

The Harold K. Stubbs Humanitarian Award, sponsored by the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church of Akron, recognizes those who have made contributions in areas such as social action, government, business, medicine and law.

The awards program honors Stubbs, a former Akron Municipal Court judge and Kent State University alumnus. Stubbs, who passed away in 1989, was actively involved with the Church. The Church has annually recognized individuals for their community service with this award.

Between eight and 10 college scholarships are also presented during the celebration. Since its inception, this program has awarded more than $4 million in educational aid.

Those wishing to watch the ceremony can do so with this Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84613647173.

It was also announced recently that Judge Hamilton has been appointed to the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Commission for Professional Responsibility. He was nominated by Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody Stewart.

While the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct oversees disciplining attorneys and judges for misconduct, the Ohio Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism is charged with monitoring, coordinating, and updating the ideals of the legal profession and sharing them with the state’s legal entities, such as courts, bar associations and law schools. 

About Judge David Hamilton
Judge David Hamilton was born and raised in Akron. He is a graduate of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy and received his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and minors in Criminal Justice and Criminology from the University of Akron. Judge Hamilton earned his Juris Doctorate at Western Michigan University.

Judge Hamilton is currently serving his first term as the Akron Municipal Court Judge and is the Administrative/Presiding Judge for 2023. Hamilton created COMPASS (Compassion, Opportunity, Mentoring, Purpose, Achievement, Success and Stepping-forward), which is a court-sponsored program geared toward helping young men find their way by providing opportunities that foster personal and professional development. He is also the co-creator of Raising the Bar, which is a court-sponsored program geared towards creating a pipeline from high school to law school for minority high school students.

Judge Hamilton is a board member of the Akron Zoo and ArtsNow. He is also a class 34 graduate of Leadership Akron and is in the current Leadership Ohio cohort. In addition to the awards mentioned above, Judge Hamilton was awarded the BMe Genius Fellowship, Crain’s Cleveland Business “Forty under 40,” the Greater Akron Chamber’s “30 for the Future Award” and the Akron Urban League “Rising Star Award.”