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Chief Justice calls for overhaul
YOUNGSTOWN
Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor of the Ohio Supreme Court is calling for an overhaul of the judicial election process.
Justice O’Connor outlined her proposals Wednesday at the Mahoning County Republican Party’s “Salute to the Judiciary” that attracted and honored Republican and Democratic judges. She said she’s had preliminary talks with state legislators about her proposals.
The chief justice wants:
The elimination of partisan judicial primaries. They create the perception, she said, that judges aren’t impartial and that they can be influenced by campaign contributions. Instead of political primaries, she wants a nonpartisan primary with the top two vote-getters running against each other in the general election for all judicial positions.
The creation of a bipartisan vetting system for filling vacant judicial seats.
An amendment to the Ohio Constitution requiring the consent of the state Senate in filling vacancies on the state Supreme Court.
In April 2010, then-Gov. Ted Strickland appointed Eric Brown, the Democratic nominee for chief justice, to fill that position after the death of then-Chief Justice Thomas Moyer.
“It was purely a political decision,” Justice O’Connor said.
To require training for judicial candidates and increase the minimum number of six years of practicing law needed before an attorney can run for a judicial position. The chief justice is recommending at least 10 years to run for a common pleas seat, 12 years for the appellate court and 15 for the Supreme Court.
The first female Supreme Court chief justice, O’Connor said, “It’s significantly more work than I anticipated.” But with a capable support staff and fellow jurists, she said it’s been a great experience.
The dinner, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Social Hall, drew a crowd of more than 100.
To show the dinner’s bipartisanship, she stood between Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judges John Durkin and James Evans, both Democrats, in a receiving line at the start of the event.