Supreme Court of Ohio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ohio Judicial Center
The Ohio Judicial Center

The Supreme Court of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, each serving six-year terms. Since 2004, the court has met in the Ohio Judicial Center (formerly known as the Ohio Departments Building) on the east bank of the Scioto River in downtown Columbus. Prior to 2004, the court met in the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower and earlier in the Judiciary Annex (now the Senate Building) of the Ohio Statehouse.

Contents

[edit] Justices

All the seats on the court are elected at large by the voters of Ohio. Every two years, two of the associate justice seats are up for election. For one of those three elections in a cycle, the chief justice's seat is up for election. In order to run for a seat on the court, a person must be admitted to the Bar in Ohio, and have practiced as a lawyer or served as a judge for at least six years.[1] There is an age limit: One may not run for a seat on the court if one is more than 70 years of age. This limit often forces the retirement of long-time justices. Justice Francis E. Sweeney Sr. was barred by this rule from running for re-election in 2004.

The Governor of Ohio may appoint a Justice to the Court when there is a vacancy.

Officially, the judicial elections are non-partisan. However, in practical terms, all this means is that party designations for the candidates are left off the ballot and justices are restricted in making public political statements. Major and minor parties all nominate candidates for the court in their primary elections. The vast majority of justices have been nominated by the two major parties in Ohio, Democratic or Republican. Many of the individuals who have contested Supreme Court seats have also contested for nominally partisan political offices, both state and federal.

With the election of Justice Robert R. Cupp in November 2006 to replace Democrat Alice Robie Resnick, the Court is currently all Republican.

Justice Date Service Began Term Ends
Thomas J. Moyer (Chief Justice)
January 1, 1987
December 31, 2010
Paul E. Pfeifer
January 2, 1993
January 1, 2011
Evelyn Lundberg Stratton
March 7, 1996
January 1, 2009
Maureen O'Connor
January 1, 2003
December 31, 2008
Terrence O'Donnell
May 19, 2003
December 31, 2012
Judith Ann Lanzinger
January 1, 2005
December 31, 2010
Robert R. Cupp
January 2, 2007
January 1, 2013

[edit] Trivia

  • From January to May 2003, for the first time since the court's creation, the female justices temporarily outnumbered the male justices. This historic female majority comprised Republicans Deborah L. Cook, Maureen O'Connor, Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, and Democrat Alice Robie Resnick.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ohio Revised Code § 2503.01

[edit] See also

[edit] External links