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Ohio Supreme Court Justice addresses area high-school students
BOARDMAN
Justice Judith French of the Ohio Supreme Court used to be like the hundreds of students she addressed at Boardman High School.
Like them, she attended a public high school in this area (Sebring High School), she told students from Mahoning, Columbiana and Portage counties who packed the Boardman Performing Arts Center on Wednesday.
That similarity is one of the reasons she chose to visit the school, she said in an interview.
“On a personal level, maybe some of them will look at me and say, ‘She went to Sebring High School, and now she’s on the Ohio Supreme Court.’ Maybe they can see themselves in me,” she said.
Gov. John Kasich appointed Justice French to the court in 2013 to fill a vacancy. She was elected to a six-year term in 2014.
She spent an hour with students, briefing them on the state judicial system and answering questions. The students from 11 school districts who attended were selected by teachers and administrators based on their interest in government and the court system. Some, including 50 from Austintown, came to the event despite being on spring break this week.
Justice French’s initial speech touched on a number of topics, summing up for students in simple terms some of the most-important features of Ohio’s court system.
She explained to them the difference between trial, appellate and supreme courts, and the process by which cases move through those levels.
She shared that every year, 3.5 million cases are filed in trial courts. About 100 each year come before the Ohio Supreme Court, which is comprised of seven elected justices.
“What we decide is, what do we want to decide? Is this a question that’s going to affect just these two individuals, or is it going to affect a lot of people?” she said of the process by which the court determines which cases to hear.
She also touched on oral arguments, and how the court deliberates and issues opinions (One fact: The author of opinions is determined by drawing marbles out of a hat.)
“So the next time you see my name on an opinion, know that it’s not because I really wanted it. It was because my marble was chosen,” she joked.
Justice French devoted most of her time to answering students’ questions, many of which were delivered with specificity and swift follow-ups to her responses.
An issue that came up more than once was the intersection of politics and the judicial system, since state Supreme Court justices are elected rather than appointed. A few students questioned how justices can remain unbiased if they have to worry about re-election.
“You’re right. At least during that campaign time, we do have to be politicians in a way,” she told one student. “You’re part of partisan politics, and you’re not. It can be hard to walk that line.”
She believes justices should be elected by the people, however, as it holds them accountable.
“My job is not to represent a certain political view. It’s to bring my own personal experiences to cases. ... I wasn’t elected to rule for a certain group of people,” she said.
Justice French also offered students advice for their futures, telling them to pursue what interests them as they move on to college. Another piece of advice she gave was to ignore the “negative voices” of people who tell them they can’t do something.
“Don’t let that be your voice,” she said.