Ohio Supreme Court Election

Incumbent Justice Melody Stewart 

Justice Melody Stewart was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2018 after defeating incumbent justice Mary DeGenaro. She is the first Black woman to be elected to the Ohio Supreme Court. She had previously served three terms on the Ohio District Court of Appeals. She previously worked as a civil litigator and in law school administration. She has been a consistent voice in the Ohio Supreme Court’s majority, standing up for consumers, workers, and voters. 

Stewart’s opponent, Justice Joe Deters is challenging fellow incumbent Justice Stewart for a full term on the court rather than running to fill the remainder of his partial term. Deters was appointed to the court to fill a vacancy in early 2023 by Gov. Mike DeWine (R), whose family are longtime friends of Deters’s family. Deters was previously the Ohio state treasurer but was forced to resign in 2005 when a corruption scandal in his office became public. He worked as the prosecutor for Hamilton County until DeWine appointed him to the state’s highest court. In February, Deters joined the court to hear oral arguments in an appeal for a case in which he previously served as lead counsel when he worked at the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s office. The case is expected to impact the way criminal sentences are evaluated. In addition to hearing the case, Deters was also part of a tie-breaking vote for the court to take up the case. Previously serving as lead counsel on the case and later participating in and hearing an appeal that could affect the outcome of said case is a quintessential ethical violation and threatens the integrity of the supreme court. Deters also recently wrote the majority opinion in a decision that ruled chicken wings advertised as boneless can contain bones, Deters made Ohio consumers less safe in favor of protecting the financial interests of large corporations.  

Incumbent Justice Michael Donnelly 

Justice Michael Donnelly was first elected to the court in 2018. Prior to joining the court, he was a judge on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for 14 years and also served on Cuyahoga County’s Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Court. Before becoming a judge, he was an assistant prosecutor and a civil litigator representing injured workers and consumers. Justice Donnelly’s opponent is Megan Shanahan, a court of common pleas judge and former career prosecutor.  

Judge Lisa Forbes 

Ohio Court of Appeals Judge Lisa Forbes was elected to the bench in 2020. She was previously a business litigator who worked on cases involving complex business litigation, consumer class actions, and trust and estate disputes. Forbes’s opponent, Dan Hawkins, is a judge of the Franklin County Municipal Court. He was formerly a career prosecutor. 

Democratic Justices Melody Stewart and Michael Donnelly have consistently voted to oppose rulings issued by the Ohio Supreme Court’s Republican majority that have attacked the fundamental rights of Ohio residents and favored the interests of big businesses and Republican lawmakers. Republican Justice Joe Deters is a reliable member of this Republican majority. Justice Stewart, Justice Donnelly, and Judge Forbes have received the endorsement of the Ohio AFL-CIO, the Ohio Education Association, the Working Families Party, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, Sierra Club Ohio, and numerous other unions. With the Republicans currently holding just a 4-3 majority on the court and with three seats on the ballot, Democrats have the opportunity to flip the court and become a check on the corruption of Republican lawmakers in Ohio. AFJ Action Campaign recommends returning Justice Melody Stewart and Justice Michael Donnelly to full terms on the court and choosing Court of Appeals Judge Lisa Forbes for the partial term.