Ohio Supreme Court

From employment protections and worker safety, to the rights of students and young people, to corporate accountability for consumers and the public, state courts are critical to deciding everyday rights. And since the U.S. Supreme Court has given states jurisdiction over voting rights and redistricting matters, state courts have an outsized impact on every person’s access to the ballot.

In a 2015 voter referendum, Ohioans overwhelmingly approved anti-gerrymandering reforms which give the Ohio Supreme Court exclusive jurisdiction over any lawsuits disputing legislative maps drawn after the census every decade. These maps determine every voter’s political representation from the state house to the U.S. Congress. The referendum means that the court will be the last line of defense against partisan gerrymandering and other attempts to restrict voters’ power and will determine whether Ohioans have accurate representation in Congress. While the court cannot draw new maps, it has the power to order the Redistricting Commission to fix violations in the maps or to redraw the maps entirely. But this wouldn’t be the first time the court has dictated voters’ power from the bench. In 2012, the court handed down a decision greenlighting conservative partisan gerrymandering, in which over 250 governmental units (counties, towns, etc.) were separated across multiple new districts. And in 2022, a bipartisan majority of the court struck down four maps that were drawn to disproportionately favor one party.

The court recently bolstered student safety in schools, with the court ruling that only qualified administrators and staff who have completed peace office training or have over 20 years of experience as a peace officer may be allowed to carry a concealed weapon on school grounds while on duty. Additionally, the court has protected juveniles in the criminal justice system. The court upheld that a defendant’s age and age-related characteristics must be considered prior to imposing a life sentence. This decision will protect the rights of vulnerable young people within the criminal justice system. The court is also essential in protecting the environment and ensuring every young person has access to clean air and water.

Our courts must protect the rights of consumers, public health, and workers by ensuring corporations are held accountable for their actions. However, the Ohio Supreme Court has deeply gutted the rights of working people. In a recent decision, the court ruled that employees must comply with drug testing even when they are forced to submit a sample directly in front of their supervisor or otherwise face termination. In other words, if an employee felt having to provide a urine sample in front of their boss was an invasion of privacy, the employee could be fired on the spot. This decision is deeply troubling for working people, especially when the court had previously weakened a worker’s ability to file a wrongful termination suit to challenge such employment practices. And in 2022, the court left thousands of Ohioans without jobs vulnerable when they approved Governor DeWine’s departure from the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program.

However, the court was essential in holding Volkswagen accountable for attempting to circumvent air pollution standards, ruling that the state may pursue Volkswagen for any emissions violations from their cars. In this case, the court acted as a necessary check on corporate power and protected the rights of all Ohioans to a healthy life and clean air.

Ohio has traditionally elected its Supreme Court justices by non-partisan election. But in 2022, justices were listed on the ballot with their party affiliations due to a bill passed in 2021 requiring this information. Each political party selects one candidate to run for each seat in the nonpartisan general election by partisan primary election.

Two justices are chosen in statewide general elections in even-numbered years. In each of these elections, there may be challengers to the justices running for re-election. Once elected, justices serve six-year terms.

If a vacancy occurs in a non-election year, the governor will appoint a justice. That justice will serve on the court until the next even-numbered general election, when they will have to be re-elected to remain on the bench.

Sharon Kennedy, Chief Justice

Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy first joined the court in 2012 and was reelected in 2014 and 2020. She was elected Chief Justice of the court in November 2022.

Legal Career

• Kennedy previously served as a judge on the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division and served as the administrative judge of the division. Before becoming a judge, she was Special Counsel to Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery. She also worked in private practice and represented police officers during disciplinary hearings as Disciplinary Counsel for the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 38.

Pat DeWine, Associate Justice  

Justice Pat DeWine joined the Ohio Supreme Court in January 2017 following his election in November 2016. He was reelected in 2022 and his current term expires on January 1, 2029. He is the son of current Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

Legal Career

• Before joining the Supreme Court, DeWine was a judge on the Ohio First District Court of Appeals and the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas. DeWine began his legal career in private practice, specializing in commercial litigation and appellate work.

Pat Fischer, Associate Justice  

Justice Patrick Fischer joined the Ohio Supreme Court in January 2017 following his election in November 2016. He was reelected in 2022 and his current term expires on December 31, 2028.

Legal Career

• Fischer was previously a judge of the Ohio First District Court of Appeals. He worked in private practice on securities, antitrust, class action, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) litigation before becoming a judge.

Michael P. Donnelly, Associate Justice  

Justice Michael P. Donnelly joined the Ohio Supreme Court in January 2019, following his election in November 2018. His current term expires on December 31, 2024.

Legal Career

• Donnelly was previously a judge on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas and served as a judge on Cuyahoga County’s Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Court, which oversees criminal cases involving defendants with mental health disorders or developmental disabilities. He was an assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor and worked in private practice representing plaintiffs and injured workers before joining the bench.

Melody Stewart, Associate Justice  

Justice Melody J. Stewart was elected to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court in November 2018 and assumed office in 2019. Her current term ends on January 1, 2025. She is the first Black woman to be elected to the court.

Legal Career

• Before joining the state’s highest court, Stewart was elected to the Ohio Court of Appeals, Eighth District in 2006 and re-elected in 2010. In 2013, she served as the court’s Administrative Judge. She was previously a law professor, teaching ethics and professional responsibility, criminal law, criminal procedure, and legal research, writing, and advocacy. She began her legal career as an assistant law director for the cities of Cleveland and East Cleveland.

Jennifer Brunner, Associate Justice

Justice Jennifer Brunner was elected a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court in 2020 and began her term in January 2021. Her current term ends on January 1, 2027.

Legal Career

• Brunner previously served as a judge on the Tenth District Court of Appeals and as a Franklin County Common Pleas judge, where she handled civil and felony criminal trials founded the court’s adult felony drug court. She also served as Ohio’s first female Secretary of State and worked in private practice when she was not serving in public office.

Joe Deters, Associate Justice

Justice Joe Deters was appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2022 by Governor DeWine to fill the vacancy left by then-Justice Sharon Kennedy’s elevation to Chief Justice of the court. To remain on the bench, Deters must run for reelection in 2024.

Legal Career

• Deters previously served as the Hamilton County Prosecutor, Ohio Treasurer, and the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.

Criminal Justice

• State v. Hacker  (2023)
  • The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a 5-2 opinion that a 2019 law allowing the state’s corrections department to advocate for sentence extensions based on factors such as bad behavior or evidence that offenders have not been rehabilitated does not violate the state constitution’s separation of powers clause.

• State v. Patrick (2020)
  • The Ohio Supreme Court held that a trial court must consider the age of a defendant and its attendant characteristics before imposing a life sentence, even if that sentence includes eligibility for parole.

Democracy and Voting Rights

• State ex rel. DeBlase v. Ohio Ballot Board  (2023)
  • The Ohio Supreme Court unanimously denied an effort to strike down the Ohio Ballot Board’s decision to certify a citizen-initiated petition proposing a constitutional amendment protecting the right to an abortion until fetal viability. The proposed amendment passed in November 2023.

• State ex rel. One Person One Vote v. Ohio Ballot Board  (2023)
  • The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the Ohio Ballot Board must rewrite some of the ballot language for the proposed amendment in the August 2023 election that would make it more difficult to amend the state’s constitution, ordering the board to correct an error in the proposed amendment’s description and amend language in its title.

• State ex rel. One Person One Vote v. LaRose  (2023)
  • The Republican-controlled Ohio Supreme Court allowed the state to hold a special election in August 2023 to pose to voters a legislatively referred ballot question that, if passed, would make it more difficult to amend the state constitution by changing the threshold for passage of proposed constitutional amendments to 60% instead of a simple majority of 50% plus one.

• Wilson v. Kasich (2012)
  • In a 4-3 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the state apportionment board’s 2011 redrawing of legislative districts for the General Assembly. The redistricting largely favored Republicans in the state.

Education

• Youngstown City School District Board of Education v. State (2020)
  • By a 5-2 vote, the Court ruled lawmakers did not violate the Ohio Constitution when they added an amendment to legislation allowing the state to takeover of academically distressed local school districts.

Environmental Protections

• State ex rel. Yost v. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (2021)
  • The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that the federal Clean Air Act does not preempt Ohio from enforcing state law following Volkswagen’s admission that it secretly used illegal software to evade pollution emission rules. The decision allows the state to pursue claims on a portion of the estimated 14,000 vehicles sold or leased in the state identified in 2016.

• In re Application of Ohio Edison Co. (2019)
  • The Court ruled that the Public Utility Commission of Ohio’s decision to bail out a nuclear and coal power company violated Ohio law. The decision invalidated illegal ratemaking that would have cost Ohio consumers over six hundred million dollars.

Gun Safety

• Gabbard v. Madison Local School District Board of Education (2021)
  • The Supreme Court ruled that Ohio school teachers, administrators, and staff could not be armed with concealed weapons while on duty unless, consistent with state training requirements for armed school guards, they complete basic peace officer training or have 20 years of experience as a peace officer.

Labor and Workers’ Rights

• State ex rel. Bowling v. DeWine (2021)
  • Ohio residents sued the DeWine administration after the governor announced the state would no longer be participating in the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, funded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). They argued DeWine had overstepped his authority by cutting off the federal funds from getting to Ohioans, and that the extra funds would boost the state economy by $98 million. The Court sided with DeWine’s move to axe federal unemployment assistance.

• Lunsford v. Sterilite of Ohio, LLC (2020)
  • The Court sided with employers to allow “direct observation” drug testing, which involved screeners following employees into the bathroom and watching them provide urine samples. If the employees did not consent to the drug testing, they would be fired.

• House v. Iacovelli (2020)
  • The court made it more difficult to establish a claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy. The majority declined to recognize the claim of an employee who was discharged after confronting her employer for underreporting her earnings to the state.

Legislative Redistricting

• League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio Redistricting Commission  (2023)
  • The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision to dismiss a series of lawsuits that had challenged the constitutionality of the state’s new legislative redistricting plan, which alleged that the plan’s maps are intentionally drawn to favor Republicans in violation of the state’s constitution. With the ruling, which dismissed the challenges to the maps on procedural grounds without considering the merits of either side’s arguments, the maps will remain in place until after the next U.S. Census in 2030.

LGBTQ+ Americans

• State ex rel. Hildreth v. LaRose (2023)
  • The Ohio Supreme Court ruled unanimously to block a proposed ballot initiative that would have asked voters to ban public drag shows within an Ohio city’s limits from appearing on the November ballot. The state’s highest court found that the proposal was misrepresented by its backers during the signature gathering and submission process in violation of state law, and that the secretary of state and other elections officials “abused their discretion and disregarded the law” when they initially allowed the measure to appear on ballots.

Reproductive Rights

• State ex rel. Ohioans for Reproductive Rights v. Ohio Ballot Bd. (2023)
  • The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the term “unborn child” can remain in the ballot language used by the state’s ballot board to describe an initiative that aims to enshrine reproductive rights in the state’s constitution that will appear on ballots statewide in November. Opponents argued that the term injects ethical judgment into the question before voters. The ruling is a victory to the Ohio Secretary of State, who oversees the ballot board and has publicly opposed the ballot measure.

• Preterm-Cleveland v. Yost (2023)
  • In a 5-2 opinion, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed a challenge brought by the state’s attorney general against a common pleas judge’s order that placed the near-total statewide abortion ban on hold over a year ago. The decision remanded the case back to the common pleas judge, who has also been asked by a group of abortion clinics to permanently block the abortion ban following Ohio voters’ decision to approve a ballot measure that enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution, with the majority writing simply that the appeal was “dismissed due to a change in the law.”

• Capital Care Network of Toledo v. Department of Health (2018)
  • The Court ruled that the Ohio Department of Health’s order shutting down Toledo, Ohio’s only abortion clinic for failure to have a written transfer agreement with a hospital was legal. This decision made it harder for people in Ohio to exercise their constitutional right to an abortion.

• Check your registration status here. Not registered? You can register to vote online at olvr.ohiosos.gov.

• The last day to register to vote in the November 5, 2024 General Election is October 7, 2024.

• Make your plan to vote. In Ohio, you can vote by mail ballot, vote in person early at your County Elections Board office, or in person at your polling place on Election Day.

• If you’re unable to go to the polls or just want to vote by mail ballot, you can find more information on absentee voting here.

• You can also vote early in-person. You can learn more about voting early in-person on your Secretary of State’s website.

• If you want to vote in-person on Election Day, make sure you know your polling place. Check your polling place here.

• Make sure you fill out your entire ballot! Supreme Court seats will be under the partisan section.