William G. Batchelder III (December 19, 1942 – February 12, 2022) was an American politician who was the 101st Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving from 2011 to 2014. He also represented the 69th District of 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 Ch ...

from 2007 to 2014, and served in the House from 1969 to 1998 previously. He was 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 ...

Early life and legal career

Batchelder was born in

Medina, Ohio Medina ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Medina County, Ohio, United States. The population was 26,094 at the 2020 Census. It lies about 33 miles (53 km) south of Cleveland and 23 miles (37 km) west of Akron within the Clevelan ...

, and grew up in the town, graduating from Medina High School. He earned his undergraduate degree in history at Ohio Wesleyan University and his J.D. from the Ohio State University College of Law. In law school he was a member of the

moot court Moot court is a co-curricular activity at many law schools. Participants take part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings, usually involving drafting memorials or memoranda and participating in oral argument. In most countries, the phrase " ...

team. He began his public service career as an aide to and protege of the late Ohio Lt. Governor John W. Brown, who was from his home town of Medina. Batchelder was elected to the

while on

active duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service. India The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be o ...

with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. He served in the office of the Judge Advocate General at the headquarters of the Third Army in Fort McPherson,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

; he was

honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and th ...

in 1974. Batchelder practiced law in Medina, Ohio for 31 years with the law firm of Williams & Batchelder. His practice focused on

personal injury Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. In common law jurisdictions the term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit in which the person bringing the suit (t ...

defense litigation, corporate law, probate, and

estate planning Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging, during a person's life, for the management and disposal of that person's estate during the person's life, in the event the person becomes incapacitated and after death. The planning inc ...

. Batchelder was elected to the Medina County

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

and served briefly on that court before 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 in ...

appointed him to the Ninth District Ohio Court of Appeals. Batchelder was elected to the appellate bench in November 2000. He served as presiding judge from January 2000 to December 2001. He had been selected by the Supreme Court of Ohio to serve on the Ohio Board of Bar Examiners. He was the recipient of the Ohio State Bar Public Service Award and an honorary graduate of the

University of Akron School of Law The University of Akron School of Law is the law school at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, USA. Offering both the J.D. and LL.M. degrees, it was founded in 1921 as the Akron School of Law and merged with the University of Akron in 195 ...

. Batchelder had been a member of the Criminal Justice Advisory Board, Office of Criminal Justice Services, Ohio Court of Appeals Association and the Ohio, Akron, Lorain County, Medina County, and Wayne County Bar Associations. He served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Akron School of Law and at the College of Urban Affairs of Cleveland State University.

Ohio House of Representatives

Batchelder served in the

for more than 30 years, serving as chairman of the Joint Committee on Ethics and Vice-Chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee, as well as

ranking member In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as '' ex officio'' member ...

at various times on the House Judiciary Committee and House Financial Institutions Committee. From 1995 to 1998, Batchelder served as

Speaker Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the House and Vice-Chairman of the Reference and Rules Committee. During the Savings and Loan Crisis in the 1980s, Batchelder worked with Democratic

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Dick Celeste Richard Frank Celeste (born November 11, 1937) is an American former diplomat, university administrator and politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 64th governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991. Early life and career ...

to draft legislation to save depositors' savings at stricken

Savings and loan association A savings and loan association (S&L), or thrift institution, is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loans. The terms "S&L" or "thrift" are mainly used in the United States; simi ...

s, causing Celeste to thank Batchelder during his State of the State speech. During the pay-to-play scandal of the mid 1990s, as chair of the Joint Committee on Ethics, Batchelder referred both the Republican President of the Ohio Senate and the Democratic Ohio Speaker of the House to a prosecutor; both were

convicted In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is co ...

. He is the only ethics committee chair ever to have referred the heads of both legislative chambers to a prosecutor. After leaving the bench in 2005, Batchelder again was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2006, defeating Jack Schira.

He would be reelected in 2008. By 2009, Batchelder was serving as Minority Leader, and when Republicans retook the Ohio House in 2010, he was elected as the 101st Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. He would remain as Speaker for the 130th Ohio General Assembly, and was term-limited in 2014.

Personal life and death

Batchelder was married to Judge

Alice M. Batchelder Alice M. Moore Batchelder (born August 15, 1944) is an American attorney and jurist. She is currently a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She served as chief judge from 2009 until 20 ...

(née Moore), currently a federal judge on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of ...

. They were married in 1966 and had two children. He died at a retirement community in Medina on February 12, 2022, at the age of 79.

Electoral history

References

External links

Batchelder for Ohio
campaign site
William G. Batchelder's file
at PolitiFact Ohio
Profile
at the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Ninth Appellate District

collected news and commentary at ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Batchelder, William G. 1942 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American Anglicans Christians from Ohio Cleveland State University faculty Judges of the Ohio District Courts of Appeals Military personnel from Ohio Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumni Ohio Wesleyan University alumni Ohio lawyers People from Medina, Ohio Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives United States Army soldiers University of Akron faculty