Joe Rine, 30, is an assistant prosecuting attorney at the Belmont County Prosecutor’s Office, assigned to the Eastern Division County Court.

“I am responsible for the cases in that court as well as any felony cases that originate in Eastern Division jurisdiction,” he said.

He started in January of 2022. He has a 5-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter.

“I am unmarried; However, I am in a relationship with a lovely woman who has a 4-year-old son of her own,” he said.

“My workdays are largely dictated by the schedules of the various courts in which I appear. Typically, Mondays are designated as the general hearing day for the felony cases in Common Pleas Court and Thursdays are when Eastern Division court is in session. On court days, I am in front of a judge handling a variety of matters that range anywhere from plea negotiations on pending cases, to hearings to exclude certain pieces of evidence,” he said.

“When I am not in court, I am at our office preparing cases to go to court. There is a constant influx of new cases coming in each day. We have an electronic case management system that allows a police officer to upload their investigative reports directly to the system that we share. I will review each case that originates in the jurisdiction I am responsible for and decide which charges, if any, are warranted in any given case,” Rine said.

He added most of the time in the office is spent researching, writing motions, conferring with attorneys, witnesses, and law enforcement officers about new and pending cases.

“I do not live by any motto that would fit nicely on a bumper sticker. Moreso, I have several overarching themes that I try to model for my children. I think it is very important to strike a healthy balance between taking your work seriously, being compassionate toward others, and maintaining a sense of humor and humanity in any circumstance. I think those ideas can be summarized as: ‘Just be a decent person.’

Rine said the Ohio Valley has always been his home.

“I grew up in a small town of just a few hundred people, surrounded by my immediate and extended family. As the years passed, I watched many people move away in search of opportunity, never to return. From the moment that I left to attend law school at the University of Akron, my goal was to come back to the Ohio Valley and practice law,” he said.

“The primary motivation for me was the desire to offer a high-quality service to the community in which I live to positively impact as many people as possible. After seeing so many people and opportunities leave the area, I wanted to help contribute to the notion that this is a great place to raise a family and enjoy a career.”

Rine said there is progress being made in the cooperation between the court system and mental health/addiction services, and there is more progress in working with counseling agencies to address underlying issues that are very often the source of criminal conduct.

“Additionally, it seems that there are a number of kids at area high schools who continue to show an interest in the practice of law by participating in mock trials. As a graduate of Buckeye Local High school, I am fortunate to have been asked to assist their team for this year’s competition. I am very much looking forward to that.

He advises young people to try different things until they find out what they love.

“If you are fortunate enough to find a profession or career where you can work without feeling like you’re working, you will be able to really invest yourself into what you do. Never be afraid to ask questions. Do your best to seek out experienced people who are willing to teach and spend time helping you learn your role. I have been incredibly fortunate to have had attorneys that were more than happy to explain to me the ‘whys’ at each step along the way,” he said. “Also, keep in mind that there is always something to be learned from any person or any situation, whether it be positive or negative.”

Rine shared one valuable lesson he learned during his training to practice law.

“Almost exactly 1 year after I graduated from law school, I received news that I did not pass the Ohio bar exam for the second time. I had no choice but to seek employment doing manual labor in order to support my children and I began to pay back student loans. After some thought, I was faced with a difficult decision: Do I try again, or do I direct my attention to earning a living in another way?

“Thankfully, I have an incredible support group made up of family and friends. Even though I seriously doubted my ability to pass that test, let alone actually earn a living as an attorney, they were unconditionally supportive. So, I took a step back and developed a study-plan that would allow me to focus on specific weaknesses and that was flexible enough to fit with my employment schedule. Time management became the utmost priority. Thankfully, I passed on the third attempt.

“The overall message to this story is to stress the importance of surrounding yourself with people who are going to push you closer to your potential. I can say definitively that the encouragement and support of my friends is the only reason I elected to sit for that test for a third and final time.

“Additionally, that period of my life allowed me to truly appreciate the concept of self-sacrifice and discipline. There was always more in the tank, I just didn’t know it was there.

Rine said there is an interesting future ahead in the field of law.

“Like death and taxes, crime is one of the unfortunate inevitabilities of life. In a perfect world, there would be no need for judges, attorneys, or police. However, the world is far from perfect,” he said. “I would like to see the court system continue moving in the direction it is moving relative to mental health and addiction intervention, especially for younger offenders.

“I would encourage young people from the area to consider the practice of law as a career choice. Like the population in years past, the number of attorneys has dwindled. I think it is important for people who are involved in the criminal justice system to be as closely tied to the community that they serve as possible. It creates an additional layer of humanity to the process.”