Matthew Ahn has lived all across Cuyahoga County: he grew up in North Royalton, lived in Cleveland Heights and Berea, and now resides in downtown Cleveland. Matthew's middle-class upbringing made him sensitive to the inequality that he saw during and after his college years at Case Western Reserve University. His experience working with first-generation and low-income students at Tri-C led him to change his focus from science and music to the law.
Meet Matthew
Matthew's hunger for justice led him to become a public defender after graduating from law school. He has spent his career as a sentencing, appeals, and post-conviction specialist, confronting the system’s negative impacts on clients, victims, families, and the entire community. At the Federal Public Defender’s office here in Northern Ohio, he won a number of rare victories, including a major change in compassionate release law in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, one level below the Supreme Court of the United States. He has spent the last two years teaching at Cleveland State University School of Law, where he was voted Faculty Member of the Year by the students in 2023.
Matthew’s approach to the law is simple: it should be on the side of the people, promoting safety, security, and Justice, For All, not only for those who can afford the best-connected lawyers.
Matthew knows that the legal system must be actively built for justice, or it will perpetuate the entrenched biases and lasting consequences of previous oppressive policies. He has the academic experience to understand how the law can be used or misused, and the practical experience to understand the urgency and importance of fighting for our communities.
Matthew brings his full effort to everything he does. He is a two-time Guinness World Record holder, a former Jeopardy! contestant, the author of a ranking of Cleveland Browns losses that Rolling Stone called "one of the top 20 lists of 2015," and a world-ranked competitive sudoku solver. He also serves on the board of Bike Cleveland and is part of the Guardians of Fair Work coalition, where he has helped to pass three anti–wage theft ordinances in Cuyahoga County and counting.
Matthew has spent many months listening to Cuyahoga County's residents about criminal justice, and knows that together we can build a system that truly provides Justice, For All.
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