Paul E. Pfeifer (born October 15, 1942) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

jurist. He served in both houses of the

Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...

as a member of the

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 of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Republican party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

and was most recently an associate justice of the

Supreme Court of Ohio 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 ...

. Pfeifer was born in Bucyrus in 1942. He grew up on his family's dairy farm near Bucyrus. As a teenager, he raised purebred Yorkshire hogs to finance his college education. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics, political science, and history in 1963 from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. In 1966, he also earned a law degree from the

College of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

. Pfeifer owns a cattle farm in

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

, near his childhood home. Pfeifer and his wife Julia have three children and four grandchildren.

Law practice

From 1967 to 1970, he worked as an assistant attorney general under

Ohio Attorney General The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state, State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost. History The office ...

William B. Saxbe William Bart Saxbe ( ; June 24, 1916 – August 24, 2010) was an American diplomat and politician affiliated with the Republican Party, who served as a U.S. Senator for Ohio, and was the Attorney General for Presidents Richard M. Nixon and G ...

. Pfeifer practiced law – tax and trial law – as a partner with the firm Cory, Brown & Pfeifer from 1972 to 1992. From 1973 to 1976, he also served as an assistant to the

prosecutor.

Political career

Ohio House of Representatives

In 1970, Pfeifer was elected to the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

. Pfeifer served as an Ohio state representative from 1971 to 1972. In 1976, he successfully ran for a seat in the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

. Pfeifer was re-elected in 1980, 1984, and 1988. From 1983 to 1984, Pfeifer was minority floor leader and from 1985 to 1986, with a Republican majority in the Senate, Pfeifer became Assistant President Pro Tempore.

Election bids

In 1982, Pfeifer ran for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

, but was defeated by incumbent Democrat

Howard Metzenbaum Howard Morton Metzenbaum (June 4, 1917March 12, 2008) was an American politician and businessman who served for almost 20 years as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from Ohio (1974, 1976–1995). He also served in the Ohio House ...

. In 1990, Pfeifer ran for Ohio attorney general, losing to Democrat

Lee Fisher Lee Irwin Fisher (born August 7, 1951) is an American attorney, politician, and academic. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 64th lieutenant governor of Ohio, with Governor Ted Strickland, from 20 ...

by a narrow margin of just over 1,200 votes. Claiming that there were discrepancies between the total number of ballots cast and the number of signatures in the polling books, Pfeifer appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court to review the results, but the court refused.

Ohio Supreme Court justice

In 1992, Pfeifer 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 John T. Patton. In 1998, he was re-elected to the court, defeating

Ronald Suster Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form of ...

. Pfeifer was unopposed in his bid for re-election in 2004 and 2010. He retired January 1, 2017 when he was forced to leave the court after exceeding the age of 70, the mandatory retirement age for judges in Ohio. Pfeifer, as the longest serving associate Justice, became acting Chief Justice on April 2, 2010 upon the death of Chief Justice

Thomas Moyer Thomas Joseph Moyer (April 18, 1939 – April 2, 2010) was an American jurist and the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court from 1987 to 2010. A member of the Republican Party, he died suddenly on April 2, 2010, at age 70. The Thomas J. Moyer O ...

. Pfeifer remained in that capacity until May 3, 2010, when Franklin County Probate Court Judge Eric Brown, who was appointed Chief Justice by Governor

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 ...

, took office. Although nominally Republican, Pfeifer was often aligned with the Democratic minority on the Court.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfeifer, Paul 1942 births Living people Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumni Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Republican Party Ohio state senators Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court People from Bucyrus, Ohio