Thu 6/20 @ 11:30AM
Neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor the Ohio State Supreme Court has been looking very credible or respectable in recent years. Obviously, the U.S. Supreme Court is in need of some enforceable ethics rules, but it’s not the only court where recusal should be on the table when a justice has a conflict of interest. Here in Ohio, Justice Patrick DeWine, son of the governor, failed to remove himself from cases in which his father was involved: the extremely controversial and partisan redistricting cases And when Justice Sharon Kennedy won election as the chief justice, Governor DeWine appointed his crony Joe Deters who had never served in a judicial role previously.
For many, the court first came to their attention during those seven redistricting cases, when the legislature blatantly ignored guidelines put in the state constitution by voters in 2025 and 2018. While the court found against the legislature in a largely partisan decision (then-chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, a Republican, joined the three Democrats in finding in favor of the constitution), it has no enforcement mechanism and was unable to stop the legislature from treating the constitution as optional.
A lot hinges on this November’s election for supreme court seats. (Unlike the federal courts, Ohio judges are elected.) The City Club forum “Now in Session: Behind the Curtains of Ohio’s Supreme Court” will enlightened listeners on what the court does and how it works so they can learn what’s at stake. The panel will feature three former justices, Terrence O’Donnell, Yvette McGee Brown, and Herbert R. Brown, with current justice Patrick Fischer serving as moderator, as they talk about the history, role and impact of this court.
The forum will also be livestreamed at the City Club’s website starting at noon. If you have questions for the panelists, text 330-541-5794.
now-in-session-behind-the-curtains-of-ohios-supreme-court
1317 Euclid Ave suite 100, Cleveland, OH 44115
Cleveland, OH 44115