Page 32 - November December CBA Report

MEMORIALS
Memorials honor the lives of deceased members of the local Bar. For more information, contact Lisa Quintanilla at (513) 699-1391 or lquintanilla@cincybar.org.
Judge Richard A. Niehaus
1944 – 2025
Judge Richard A. Niehaus passed
away peacefully on January 27, 2025,
after a long illness, at the age of 80.
Born in Columbus, Ohio on August
23, 1944, to Maurice A. Niehaus and
Catherine Barron Niehaus, Richard
moved with his family to Cincinnati at
the age of two. He is survived by his devoted wife of 43 years,
Wendy Huebner Niehaus; his daughter, Lindsay Niehaus Stuart
(Alexander); his beloved granddaughters, Samantha and Sidney;
his brothers, Stephen (Sherry) and Barron (Amy); his sister, Eliz-
abeth Niehaus Beringhaus (Kerry); and many dear nieces and
nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Richard was a proud graduate of St. Xavier High School and
Georgetown University. He returned to Cincinnati to attend
Salmon P. Chase College of Law, following in the footsteps of his
father, Maurice, a longtime Cincinnati lawyer and county court
judge. Richard became the first in what has become a family
legacy of Niehaus attorneys, including his brother Barron, sister
Elizabeth, daughter Lindsay, and nephew Andrew. He later earned
certification as a Master Trial Judge from the Judicial Studies
Program at the University of Nevada, Reno.
While still in law school, Richard began his long and distin-
guished career in Hamilton County as a constable to Common
Pleas Judges John W. Keefe and Paul George. After earning his law
degree in 1970, he practiced alongside his father and served as an
Assistant City Solicitor in the real estate division for the City of
Cincinnati, an Assistant Ohio Attorney General, and as assigned
counsel for the Hamilton County Public Defender.
In 1979, Richard was elected to replace his father on the
Hamilton County Municipal Court. An early appointment as a
“substitute judge” by Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank
D. Celebrezze made it possible for father and son to serve on the
bench at the same time—a rare and meaningful honor.
He was elected to the Hamilton County Court of Common
Pleas in 1982 and served from 1983 until 2007. One of the
youngest jurists on the bench at the time of his election, Judge
Niehaus presided over several of the most notable cases in county
history. These included the 1985 capital trial of serial killer Alton
Coleman, the 15-week Home State Savings Bank trial (then
the longest in county history) against Marvin Warner, Burton
Bongard, and David Schiebel, the homicide trial of Della Sutorius,
known as the “Black Widow,” and the landmark plea agreement
with the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in a clergy sexual abuse
case. That agreement, believed to be the first of its kind in the
nation, established a $3 million victims’ fund and strict reporting
requirements.
After retiring from elected office in 2007, Judge Niehaus
continued to serve as a Visiting Judge until 2016. In retirement,
he devoted himself to family, friends, and the pursuits he loved
most. Whether traveling the world with his daughter, boating and
fishing in Minnesota and Florida, or enjoying quiet time at home
with his wife, Richard lived with extraordinary passion—giving
his whole heart to the people he loved and the adventures he
pursued. He also generously devoted his time to numerous orga-
nizations and causes in the community.
Judge Niehaus will be remembered not only for his distin-
guished service to the law, but also for his commitment to justice
and fairness, his deep love of family, his sharp mind, and his
enduring sense of purpose.
32 Gordon A. Christenson
1932 – 2025
If you ever had the opportunity
to have a conversation with Gordon
Christenson, you may have an idea of
the powerful intellect that guided him
through a rich academic career and
a full life. Before becoming dean and
Nippert Professor of Law at the Univer-
sity of Cincinnati College of Law, Gordon had served in U.S. Air
Force as a commissioned officer, taught at a half-dozen presti-
gious law schools, and worked for both the Department of State
and the Department of Commerce. His list of academic publica-
tions is both long and impressive. For a generation of new lawyers,
he demonstrated a genuine passion for teaching jurisprudence,
constitutional law, and international law. The phrase he often used
THE REPORT | November/December 2025 | CincyBar.org
was, “You have to get inside of the law to understand it.” His life
was devoted to understanding the law.
He maintained a close relationship with his daughters, Ruth
C. O’Brien and Nanette Dear; his son, Scott Christenson; all of his
grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and his sisters, Sharon
Russon and Kathy Stauffer.
Only a few months before his death, I had the privilege of
being in the audience where he read an original paper in which
he spun an incredibly complex mythological tale, “Dancing with
Satan’s Daughter.” The title is a reference to Victor Hugo’s last
poem. His voice was strong. The intellectual acuity which he had
possessed throughout his life was obvious. Gordon lived a rich
and useful life, and he will be missed by the many people whose
lives he made better.
— Tom Cuni