Litigation

Ethics Complaints Fly in Ohio Court Contest

By Peter Hardin

The ethics complaints are flying around the campaigns for chief justice of Ohio’s Supreme Court. The election is set for November.

Chief Justice Eric Brown (photo at left), a Democrat recently named by Gov. Ted Strickland, was accused by the Ohio GOP of personally soliciting money for his campaign, in alleged violation of a judicial rule prohibiting such conduct, according to a Columbus Dispatch article.

The complaint stems from Justice Brown’s making  a personal telephone pitch inviting people to attend a campaign fundraiser (see Gavel Grab). There was no violation, a Democratic campaign adviser said. The justice did not ask directly for campaign contributions, the adviser asserted.

The Republican challenger, Justice Maureen O’Connor (photo above, far left), was accused by Ohio Democrats of violating a rule prohibiting political endorsements made by judges.

The state Democratic Party also accused a Republican seeking re-election, Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger, of violating that rule. It said Justices O’Connor and Lanzinger endorsed one another, in language that stopped just shy of a formal, outright endorsement.

There was no comment from the campaigns of Justices Lanzinger and O’Connor, but an Ohio GOP spokesman said these justices were simply engaging in “lighthearted free speech.”

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 24, 2010 (boomark / email).