Ever since the 2002 case of Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down, on First Amendment Grounds, the “announce clause” of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibited judges and judicial candidates from announcing their views on disputed legal or political issues, judicial elections have
Judiciary
Commentary: Columbus Judge Properly Receives a Disciplinary Slap.
By Marianna Bettman on
On March 11, 2015, in Ohio State Bar Assn. v. Salerno, 2015-Ohio-791, the Supreme Court of Ohio publicly reprimanded Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Amy Salerno for telling jurors in open court in a criminal case they had reached the wrong verdict when they found the defendant not guilty of assault and disorderly conduct. …
Commentary: The Death Penalty and Elected Judges
By Marianna Bettman on
Now retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote this in her separate concurrence in the landmark case of Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, the 2002 decision that changed the landscape in judicial elections by giving judges and judicial candidates more free speech (and some say unwisely so):
“ I am concerned…
A Change of Heart by the Chief on Judicial Elections?
By Marianna Bettman on
An interview with Ohio’s Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and AP reporter Andrew Welch-Huggins, which ran in a number of Ohio newspapers last week, carried the headline “Ohio Chief Justice: Time to Rethink Judicial Elections.” The story quotes O’Connor as saying that because nearly 70% of the judicial races (69% in this election cycle) are uncontested,…
An Update on the Noling case
By Marianna Bettman on
Last January, my University of Cincinnati College of Law colleague Carrie Wood, then with the Ohio Innocence project, (now with the Ohio Public Defender’s office) argued to the Supreme Court of Ohio that a second application for post conviction DNA testing filed by death row inmate Tyrone Noling under a new statute with more liberal…
The Ohio Judicial Conference:Celebrating 50 Years
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Judiciary, Ohio Supreme Court Watch
Last week I was at the Ohio Judicial Conference to give my annual presentation on the most important cases from the Supreme Court of Ohio this past year. I attended Chief Justice O’Connor’s annual State of the Judiciary Address, which you can watch here. Most of the speech was a recapitulation of and progress report…
The End of Summer
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Judiciary, Ohio Supreme Court Watch
Well, I begin teaching a new crop of law students today, and the Supreme Court of Ohio resumes oral arguments tomorrow, which means the blog will crank back up again. See this post about the cases the blog has previewed and analyzed that are still under submission.
For those of you who may be new…
Choosing Judges in Ohio: Time for Some Changes?
By Marianna Bettman on
As I’m sure my readers already know, Ohio elects all of its judges—from Municipal Court to the Ohio Supreme Court. Why? Our state constitution has required this since 1851. And all judicial terms are six years. Presently, the only requirement to become a judge is to have practiced law in Ohio for six years, and…
No more “Once a Judge Always a Judge”
By Marianna Bettman on
Update: The Supreme Court of Ohio effectively overruled this opinion in new amendments to Rule 8.2 of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct. Read about that here.
I haven’t been a judge in a long time, yet many people still call me Judge Bettman. I appreciate the courtesy, but I don’t think of myself that…
Summer Schedules for our High Courts.
By Marianna Bettman on
Posted in Judiciary, Ohio Supreme Court Watch
Both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Ohio Supreme Court take the summer off from hearing cases, but with different schedules. The U.S. Supreme Court releases all of its submitted cases by the end of June, and then adjourns until its new term begins the first Monday in October. Usually, it saves the most important…