Governor has power to appoint vacancy

Recently, one of my colleagues, Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, announced that she will retire at the end of this year. My colleagues and I wish her well as she moves on to devote her efforts full-time to advocating on behalf of veterans and mental health issues.

So who will take her spot? Do you know what happens when there’s a vacancy on a court in Ohio?

According to Article IV, Section 13 of the Ohio Constitution, the governor has sole authority to fill all judicial vacancies in the state.

Whoever is appointed to replace Justice Stratton will serve out the remaining two years of the term Justice Stratton was elected to in 2008. The new justice will need to run in the November 2014 general election if he or she wants to serve a full six-year term.

All judicial vacancies are handled the same no matter the court. So the process to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court is the same for filling a vacancy on any other court in the state.

Buckeye Girls State Welcomes Court Majority

The four women who are justices of the Supreme Court of Ohio will speak to 125 girls who are juniors in high school at the 66th session of Buckeye Girls State. Every year, girls from across Ohio attend this week-long program designed to educate them about the duties, privileges, rights and responsibilities of good citizenship, which this year will be hosted by the University of Mount Union in Alliance.

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is the first woman to hold the chief justice position in Ohio history. Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton just announced she will retire at the end of the year and has served as a justice since 1996. I am in my second term on the court, although I have been a judge since 1985. And when Justice Yvette McGee Brown joined the Ohio Supreme Court in January 2011, the women outnumbered the men on the Supreme Court for only the third time in the court’s history.

In an hour session each of us will speak briefly about the Power of One and how one person can make a difference and answer questions about our life experiences. We look forward to meeting these fine students.

Inspired by Rosa Parks Day, the justices spoke of the Power of One at an event in December. Watch the video here.

Supreme Court Justices Have Different Backgrounds

Although many people think that justices on the Supreme Court of Ohio have already served as judges, it may surprise you to know that not everyone comes to our court after serving as a judge. Right now, the only requirement for any judgeship – including the Supreme Court – is six years of experience as an attorney.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be the only person ever elected to every level of the court system: the municipal court, common pleas court, appeals court and now the Supreme Court. Nearly all the other justices have also had judicial experience before arriving at our Court. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, and Justices Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Terrence O’Donnell and Yvette McGee Brown were trial judges. Justices O’Donnell and Robert Cupp were appellate judges.

The non-judicial government experience among us also varies. Chief Justice O’Connor served in the executive branch as lieutenant governor and director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. As a county commissioner Justice Cupp was also part of the executive branch. Justice Paul Pfeifer and Justice Cupp were members of the General Assembly, the legislative branch. This means that Justice Cupp has served in all three branches of government.

As you can see, our backgrounds differ. By combining our varied experiences, we can bring a better perspective to the cases that come before the Court.