Ohio Supreme Court

Ohio Supreme Court
Court information
Justices:	7
Founded:	1802
Judicial selection
Method:	Non-partisan election of judges
Term:	6 years
Active justices
Paul Pfeifer  •  Maureen O'Connor  •  Terrence O'Donnell  •  Judith Ann Lanzinger  •  Robert Cupp  •  Evelyn Stratton  •  Yvette McGee Brown  •
Former justices

Founded in 1802, the Ohio Supreme Court, is the state's court of last resort. Most of its cases are appeals from the twelve district courts of appeals.^[1]

Justices

2012 election

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Term	Primary Vote	Election Vote
KennedySharon L. Kennedy	No	Republican	Term ending 12/31/2014
CuppRobert Cupp	Yes	Republican	Term commencing 1/2/2013
O'DonnellTerrence O'Donnell	Yes	Republican	Term commencing 1/1/2013
RuckerFanon Rucker	No	Democratic	Term commencing 1/2/2013	28.6%
O'NeillWilliam O'Neill	No	Democratic	Term commencing 1/2/2013	71.3%a
PriceRobert W. Price	No	Democratic	Term commencing 1/1/2013
BrownYvette McGee Brown	Yes	Democratic	Term ending 12/31/2014

Jurisdiction

The Ohio Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction in cases regarding the state or national constitution, cases that originated in the courts of appeals, cases of conflicting opinions in the appellate courts, cases involving the death penalty, and may review the Public Utilities Commission and the Board of Tax Appeals.

"The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction to issue extraordinary writs. These include writs of habeas corpus (inquiring into the cause of an allegedly unlawful imprisonment or deprivation of custody), writs of mandamus (ordering a public official to perform a required act), writs of procedendo (compelling a lower court to proceed to judgment in a case), writs of prohibition (ordering a lower court to stop abusing or usurping judicial functions), and writs of quo warranto (issued against a person or corporation for usurpation, misuse, or abuse of public office or corporate office or franchise)."^[1]

Judicial selection

The seven justices on the court, one Chief Justice and six associate justices are elected to six-year terms on a nonpartisan ballot. In the case of a vacancy occurring between elections the Governor would appoint a justice. ^[1] Candidates run on the ballot without their political affiliation, however, the affiliation is known prior to the election as the parties "nominate" the candidates for their primary elections.^[2]

Qualifications

To be a qualified candidate for the Ohio Supreme Court, a person must have practiced law for at least six years, must be admitted to the Bar in Ohio and be younger than 70 years.^[1]

Caseloads

Statistics released in May 2011 by the Supreme Court show that case volume for all courts has dropped 16% since 2002. The Supreme Court has maintained approximately the same number of filings as last year, but has been seeing a drop in numbers since a peak at 2,506 in 2008. The Common Pleas Courts has seen a drop of 4% since last year and 9.5% drop since 2006. Mark R. Weaver, a former Attorney General and local lawyer, attributes the drop in cases to the economic downturn and tort reforms that restrict the ability of citizens to file certain types of lawsuits. Finally, divorces dropped again this year continuing a ten year trend, also noteworthy as most did not involve children which has been a growing trend since 2005. ^[3]

^[4]

Salaries

The Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court earns $150,850 annually, while associate justices earn $141,600, as of January 2010.^[5][6]

Notable decisions

Opinions of current justices

Contract enforcement

• J.F. v. D.B. (2007)
• Preferred Capital, Inc. v. Power Engineering Group, Inc. (2007)

Criminal justice

• State v. Colon (2008)
• State v. Lowe (2007)
• State v. Robinette

Election law

• State ex rel. Todd v. Felger (2007)
• State ex rel. Myles v. Brunner

Family law

• In re D.A. (2007)
• State v. Lowe (2007)

Government accountability

• Penrod v. Ohio Department of Administrative Services (2007)

Gun rights

• State v. Davis (2007)

History of the court

Ohio Supreme Court building in Columbus, Ohio

In 1802, the Constitution was instituted with the creation of Ohio as a state. The Constitution provided a Supreme Court of the state with three judges.^[7] The size of the court increased throughout history--in 1912, an amendment to the Constitution increased the court from three justices to six, and the membership of the court was identified with a Chief Justice and six associate justices.

Notable firsts

• Maureen O'Connor is the first woman to serve as Chief Justice of the court. She was elected to the position by voters in the 2010 judicial election.

See also

• Ohio judicial elections, 2012

External links

• A More Modest Court: The Ohio Supreme Court's Newfound Judicial Restraint
• The Ohio Supreme Court: A Court at the Crossroads
• Ohio Supreme Court Official Site
• Fortune Magazine: Legal Pad
• Fringe Tactics: Special Interest Groups Target Judicial Races
• Ohio SC Opinions search
• Wikipedia:Ohio Supreme Court
• Volohk Conspiracy: Adler on A More Modest Ohio Supreme Court
• State Supreme Court overrules Brunner
• Ohio Supreme Court decisions from the Cleveland Law Library Association

References

2010

See also: 2010 State Supreme Court elections

Incumbent Eric Brown faced challenger Maureen O'Connor and was defeated.

Ohio Supreme Court 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Maureen O'Connor		n/a	67.8%
Eric Brown		n/a	n/a

Incumbent Judith Ann Lanzinger faced challenger Mary Jane Trapp and won.

Ohio Supreme Court 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Judith Ann Lanzinger		n/a	56.9%
Mary Jane Trapp		n/a	n/a

Paul Pfeifer ran uncontested and was elected.

Ohio Supreme Court 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Paul Pfeifer		n/a	n/a

2008

See also: State Supreme Court elections, 2008

Incumbent Maureen O'Connor defeated challenger Joseph D. Russo.

Ohio Supreme Court 2008 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Maureen O'Connor		n/a	67%
Joseph D. Russo		n/a	44%

Incumbent Evelyn L. Stratton defeated challenger Peter M. Sikora.

Ohio Supreme Court 2008 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Evelyn L. Stratton		n/a	63%
Peter M. Sikora		n/a	37%