Ohio

Ohio Supreme Court Changes Rule Again on Judicial Disclosure of Party Affiliation

By Cleveland Law Library

On December 30, 2008, the Ohio Supreme Court issued more changes to the Ohio Rules of Judicial Conduct that would have allowed judicial candidates to disclosure their party affiliation during primary and general elections. See our prior blog post for more details. However, on January 13, 2009, the Court changed its mind and revised that Rule to only allow disclosure in primary, but not general, elections. The Court's Press Release announcing the reconsideration indicated that the Justices wanted to emphasize the "non-partisan nature of judicial elections in Ohio, which is set in law by the General Assembly." The Press Release also indicates that Justices Pfeifer and Lanzinger voted against revising the Rule on the basis of Minnesota Republican Party  v. White (535 U.S. 765 (2002). Former Appeals Court Judge William O'Neill of Geauga, Ohio, who unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court, filed a lawsuit over the state of the law before the Ohio Supreme Court passed the December Rule. As a Cleveland Plain Dealer article points out, that December changes could have made Judge O'Neill's suit moot, but the Court's January changes in part revive his standing.

Full post as published by Cleveland Law Library Weblog on January 24, 2009 (boomark / email).