Court News Ohio brings judicial system news to you

A comprehensive, multichannel, multimedia program covering news about the Ohio judicial system launched this week.

Because the YouTube generation relies so much on video for news delivery, Court News Ohio will have more visual stories instead of just text-based articles.

The program also will have a social media presence and include a Facebook page and a Twitter feed. Videos will be available for individual download or through a free podcast subscription on Apple iTunes.

Check out the promotional piece on Court News Ohio along with its website and let me know what you think.

A visit with some Glass City scholars

I had the privilege of meeting with and speaking to about 20 Toledo high school students enrolled in the Law and Leadership Institute (LLI) at the University of Toledo College of Law on Wednesday.

Toledo is my hometown and I’m glad to say that this group was just as impressive as the students I’ve visited with the previous three years.

Through the LLI program, a diverse group of students from underserved schools learn skills that will help them become lawyers or leaders in their communities. LLI enriches high school instruction through a four-year academic program in law, leadership, analytical thinking, problem solving, writing skills and professionalism.

I talked about the Supreme Court and the importance of listening, reading, thinking, writing and speaking – all necessary skills for any field of work. From their response and great questions, I know that these students will be successful in whatever paths they choose in their lives.

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.

Ask Justice Judy - Can Ohio Supreme Court justices be reprimanded for a remark they make during a case?

In our "Ask Justice Judy" series, today we answer a question from Bobby M., a senior from McComb High School in McComb.

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.

Seeking Justice for Nazi War Crimes

It’s remarkable how many Justices are connected to pivotal events in world history.

Take former Chief Justice Carrington Marshall for instance. He served on the Ohio Supreme Court from January 1, 1921 to December 31, 1932, but he’s better known for his later service to the worldwide legal community post-World War II.

On February 13, 1947 General Lucius Clay of the Office of Military Government for Germany appointed Chief Justice Marshall as presiding judge of an important case: The United States of America vs. Josef Altstotter, et.al (1947). This trial, known as “The Judges’ Trial” was one of 12 held by the United States in Nuremberg after the end of WW II.

Sixteen German judges and lawyers were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the abuse of the judicial and penal process that resulted in mass murder, torture, plunder of private property and slave labor. Ten of the defendants were eventually found guilty, four were acquitted, one was excused due to illness and one committed suicide before the beginning of the trial. Due to serious illness, Chief Justice Marshall resigned on June 19, 1947 and returned to Ohio.

To read Chief Justice Marshall’s full biography, click on this link:
http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/SCO/formerjustices/bios/marshall.asp.

The Ohio Supreme Court hosted a lecture in 2010 on how the courts in Germany failed to stand in the way of the Holocaust. (Watch video.) The lecture will be offered again in Cleveland this fall.

Ask Justice Judy - How does a case get to the Ohio Supreme Court?

In our "Ask Justice Judy" series, today we answer a question from Hayley D., a fourth-grader from Our Lady of Peace School in Columbus.