Deters began his career in public service in 1982 as an Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor. Six years later in 1988 he was elected as Hamilton County's Clerk of Courts. He returned to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's office in 1992 after being appointed and later elected Prosecuting Attorney. He was re-elected Prosecuting Attorney in 1996. In 1999, Deters was sworn in as Ohio's 44th
State Treasurer where he was responsible for collecting, managing, and investing more than $11 billion in assets for the State of Ohio. During his tenure, the Ohio Treasurer's Office received 23 national awards for innovation and technology and earned interest on investments faster than any prior administration. In the fall of 2004, Deters' commitment to his young family and love for his hometown brought him back to Cincinnati where he once again ran for Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney. In an historic write-in campaign for Prosecutor, Deters won 60% of the vote. On January 2, 2005, he was soon sworn in yet again as Hamilton County Prosecutor and was subsequently re-elected in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020, making him Hamilton County's longest tenured prosecuting attorney. In late 2022, Governor Mike DeWine appointed Deters to the Ohio Supreme Court. He was sworn in on January 7, 2023, as the 163rd Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio where he proudly remains today. As Prosecutor, Deters has managed high-profile cases that have attracted national and international attention. In 1987, he led the investigation of
Donald Harvey, a convicted serial killer who pleaded guilty to murdering 37 people while working as a hospital orderly. Approximately 30 years later, he prosecuted his fifth serial killer,
Samuel Little, who murdered two Cincinnati women over the course of a 30-year killing spree. In total, Deters has prosecuted six serial killers. In 2012, Deters was critical of Xavier University for expelling
Dezmine Wells, one of its basketball players, due to a
rape allegation. Prior to the school holding a hearing on the matter, a
grand jury had refused to prosecute Wells. Deters, who has been described as being tough on crime, said the prosecutor's office had conducted a thorough investigation —maintaining that the accusation lacked any credibility and the decision "wasn't even close." He said that the school proceedings had egregiously violated Wells' right to a fair hearing by putting the
burden of proof on Wells instead of his accuser, had assigned incompetent staff to examine the forensic evidence, and prevented Wells from presenting evidence which would have proven his innocence. After learning of Xavier's decision, he called for the university to reexamine Wells' expulsion. On July 29, 2015, Deters oversaw the indictment of University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing in the killing of
Sam DuBose during a traffic stop. He called the killing "totally unwarranted" and "senseless." His comments regarding the killing received some criticism from the public. Many critics also pointed to the published comments of the editorial board of the Cincinnati Enquirer which had previously criticized Deters for his remarks about a violent assault earlier that month which he had decided not to charge as a racially motivated crime. Nevertheless, the office worked quickly to complete the investigation, filing charges just 10 days after the initial shooting. However, a divided jury failed to reach a verdict on two separate occasions, prompting Deters’ announcement that the County would not try the case a third time. Following a violent 2021 Fourth of July weekend in Cincinnati, which included a shooting at a downtown park, Deters announced that the office would no longer offer plea bargains in any cases involving gun violence or possession of illegal firearms. He added, “People must be held accountable for their choices. As a community, we must stand together and say ‘enough is enough.’” In February 2023, Xavier University announced that Deters would be serving as their inaugural Justice in Residence, an unpaid, voluntary position intended to engage students in dialogue as well as to mentor students interested in pursuing careers in law. ==Political positions==