Maureen O'Connor (born August 7, 1951) is an American lawyer and judge serving as the chief justice of the
Ohio Supreme Court
The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...
. She was elected to the court in 2002, becoming chief justice in 2010.
Prior to this, O'Connor served as an associate justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and as the 61st
lieutenant governor of Ohio
The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve a ...
, serving under Governor
Bob Taft
Robert Alphonso Taft III (born January 8, 1942) is an American politician and attorney, who served as the 67th governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007 as a member of the Republican Party.
A member of the Taft political dynasty, Taft served first i ...
. She is a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
.
Education and experience
O'Connor earned a bachelor's degree at
Seton Hill University
Seton Hill University is a private Catholic university in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Formerly a women's college, it became a coeducational university in 2002 and enrolls about 2,200 students.
History
The school was founded in 1885 by the Sist ...
,
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau (ecoregion), W ...
in 1973 and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree at
Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in operation since 1923. ...
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Cleveland State University College of Law is the law school of Cleveland State University, a Public university, public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. The school traces its origins to Cleveland Law School (founded in 1897), which merged in ...
in 1980. In 1981, O'Connor began practicing law in
Summit County, Ohio
Summit County is an urban county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 540,428, making it the fourth-most populous county in Ohio. Its county seat and largest city is Akron. The county was formed on March 3, 1840, ...
. In 1985, she was appointed a magistrate of the Summit County Probate Court. She was then elected as a judge of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, serving on the bench from 1993 to 1995. In 1994, she was elected to the office of Summit County prosecutor and served in that office from 1995 to 1999. O'Connor received "The Cleveland State University Distinguished Alumnae Award for Civic Achievement" in 1997.
Service as Ohio Lieutenant Governor
In 1998, O'Connor was elected Ohio's 61st lieutenant governor and served in that office from 1999 until she resigned at the end of 2002, under Governor
Bob Taft
Robert Alphonso Taft III (born January 8, 1942) is an American politician and attorney, who served as the 67th governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007 as a member of the Republican Party.
A member of the Taft political dynasty, Taft served first i ...
.
Ohio Supreme Court tenure
In 2002, O'Connor ran for and was elected to the
Ohio Supreme Court
The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...
, defeating Democrat
Timothy Black. She began serving in 2003. She was reelected in 2008 with 67.14% of the vote against Democrat Joseph Russo. O'Connor defeated Chief Justice
Eric Brown in the 2010 general election with 67.59% of the vote. Brown had been appointed chief justice by Gov.
Ted Strickland
Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who was the 68th governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ...
in May 2010 after the death of
Thomas J. Moyer. She is the sixth woman to have served as an Ohio Supreme Court justice and is the first woman to hold the post of chief justice. For the 2016 election, the Democratic Party did not field a candidate to run against O'Connor.
She has been described as an "independent voice" on the Ohio Supreme Court.
She dissented on a ruling that upheld the forced closure of the last abortion clinic in Toledo, Ohio; she has expressed support for
criminal justice reform
Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in Criminal justice, criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any poi ...
; and called for less partisan influence in how judges are selected in Ohio.
In 2022, O'Connor was the deciding vote in a ruling that struck down a heavily pro-Republican
gerrymandered
In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
redistricting map.
She criticized how Republicans abused the redistricting process.
After her vote,
Ohio Republicans
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
called for impeaching her.
See also
*
List of justices of the Ohio Supreme Court
Bold indicates chief judge or chief justice. The Supreme Court of Ohio, Ohio Supreme Court was created by the Ohio Constitution of 1802 with three judges, and had three or four through 1851. In 1851, the number of judges was increased to five. In ...
*
List of Cleveland–Marshall College of Law alumni
This a list of notable alumni of Cleveland State University College of Law in Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population ...
*
List of female lieutenant governors in the United States
As of January 18, 2023, there are 22 women currently serving (excluding acting capacity) as lieutenant governors in the United States. Overall, 118 women have served (including acting capacity).
Women have been elected lieutenant governor from 4 ...
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Maureen
1951 births
Living people
20th-century American politicians
21st-century American judges
21st-century American women judges
American prosecutors
American women lawyers
Chief Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court
Cleveland–Marshall College of Law alumni
Lieutenant Governors of Ohio
Ohio Republicans
Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court
People from Washington, D.C.
Seton Hill University alumni
State cabinet secretaries of Ohio
Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States