Justice O’Connor stresses diversity

By BOB JACKSON

news@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

Creating a more diverse legal and judicial community should eventually lead to more respect for the legal profession in general, said Justice Maureen O’Connor of the Ohio Supreme Court.

“It would improve the validity of what we do,” Justice O’Connor said, noting that some 90 percent of lawyers in Ohio are white males. “It is unacceptable to have one small group of people making all the decisions for everything we do in our profession.”

Justice O’Connor, a Republican from Cleveland Heights, was the keynote speaker Thursday at Youngstown State University’s third annual Diversity Leadership Recognition Celebration at Mr. Anthony’s.

Atty. Yulanda McCarty-Harris, director of equal opportunity and diversity at YSU, said the event honors leaders on the campus and in the community who have made a difference in their fields by creating ways to embrace diversity.

“That’s what it’s all about,” McCarty-Harris said. “Coming together despite any differences or disagreements you might have and seeing how we can all move forward.”

More than 350 people attended the event, which McCarty-Harris said has grown each year.

McCarty-Harris and Justice O’Connor serve together on the Ohio State Bar Association’s Advisory Council on Diversity Initiatives.

“After I met her and talked with her, I knew we had to have her come here and speak for us tonight,” McCarty-Harris said.

Justice O’Connor said Ohio’s high court has been taking steps to improve the levels of diversity in the legal profession and in the judiciary in Ohio. One of those projects is creation of the Law & Leadership Summer Institute, in which youths from “underserved communities” get a chance to study law. The free, five-week program is open to students entering the ninth grade who have an interest in the law, and gives them a chance to study law at Ohio’s law schools.

“We want to dispel all the junk that fills their heads from television and the movies,” Justice O’Connor said. “Even if they never go to law school, that exposure to the legal profession can help them make informed life choices knowing how their government and legal systems work.”

Ohio courts also have begun printing more than 25 commonly used court forms in other languages so people who struggle with English can still have access to legal processes. The forms are printed in Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Somali and Mandarin Chinese because they are the most prevalent foreign languages spoken in Ohio, she said.

“When we talk about diversity, it’s not just about race or gender,” Justice O’Connor said. “It’s cultural and ethnic diversity and sexual orientation, even economic diversity. There is a spectrum of different circumstances for different people, and they should all have the same access to our profession.”

Making the legal profession and the judiciary more inclusive “across the board” will lead to “greater respect for the rule of law,” she said.

She said that when people see others within the legal system who “look like them,” it fosters a feeling of fair treatment and a belief in equality.

“We have a country that talks about equal justice for all, but not all citizens have equal access to the courts, or the ability to navigate the system,” she said.

Justice O’Connor is running for chief justice, opposed by Franklin County Probate Judge Eric Brown, a Democrat. If she wins, Justice O’Connor would become the first female chief justice in the Ohio Supreme Court’s 208-year history.

“But I want to have a society where that really is not such a big deal,” she said, noting that countries such as India, England and Israel have had women in their top leadership positions for years. “That nut has been cracked in many other countries and cultures. We need to take a look at why we’re not there yet.”

HONOREES

Youngstown State University’s third annual Diversity Leadership Recognition Celebration at Mr. Anthony’s:

Campus Leadership: Michael Beverly, coordinator for multicultural student services in YSU’s Center for Student Progress; Dr. Paul Carr, assistant professor of educational foundations, research, technology and leadership in the Beeghly College of Education; and Dr. Sherry Linkon, professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and co-director of the Center for Working Class Studies.

Leader of Tomorrow (students): Bryan Chaidez,economics; Ra’Shawd E. Davis, criminal justice; Jennifer Edwards, social work; and Mason Shattuck, finance.

Community Leadership: The Rev. Kenneth L. Simon, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church, Youngstown; Atty. Bonnie Deutsch-Burdman, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation; and Clifford E. Johnson (posthumously), a longtime educator who broke several racial barriers, such as being the first black foreman of a Trumbull County grand jury, the first black high school head coach in the Warren City School system and the first black to serve on the Warren City Board of Health.