The walls and shelves in Justice Melody Stewart’s office at the Ohio Supreme Court are loaded with awards, accolades and academic degrees − physical symbols of how hard she has worked to get to where she is now.
Stewart takes umbrage that her opponent, Justice Joe Deters, got appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court by his long-time family friend, Gov. Mike DeWine. Rather than run to retain his current seat, the Cincinnati Republican opted to challenge Stewart for a full, six-year term.
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“On no planet is my opponent a better addition to the court,” said Stewart, a Cleveland Democrat. “He’s running to stay on the court and to remove me from the court. And so, I think the quality of the bench will decrease exponentially if that were to happen.”
Stewart has more time wearing the robe than Deters, who had no experience as a jurist until his appointment in January 2023. After time as a law professor, Stewart served 12 years on the 8th District Court of Appeals and won a seat on the Supreme Court in 2018. She became the first Black woman in Ohio history to be elected to the Supreme Court and only the second Black woman to be a justice.
Stewart paints Deters as someone who wanted to be a justice but doesn’t want to put in the required work. Deters missed court conferences in August because he was on vacation and he skipped the grinding homework required of a tedious task force last year but still got his name in the credits, Stewart said.
Deters said someone was going to run against Stewart. He said he brings a prosecutor’s perspective to the bench, and he has more trial experience than any of his colleagues, combined.
Trial and municipal court races in Ohio are nonpartisan, but a new state law requires partisan labels in general elections for appellate and Supreme Court candidates. The GOP-controlled legislature adopted the law after Democrats, including Stewart, won seats on the high court.
Stewart isn’t a fan of the new law, which she views as a detrimental politicization of the judicial branch.
Who is Melody Stewart?
Stewart grew up in Cleveland with a mom who had an 8th grade education.
Stewart credits her mother for giving her educational opportunities, instilling a love of the arts, and pushing her to be self-sufficient. Her mom wanted to “mold me into the best, educated, compassionate, understanding, intelligent, respectful human being that I could be.”
Her mother died in 2000, before Stewart was elected to the appeals court bench. But she saw her daughter be trained as a classical pianist and earn a bachelor’s degree in music, finish law school and start her legal career. She earned a PhD in social sciences while on the appellate court.
‘Legislating from the bench’
Republicans often accuse Democrats of “legislating from the bench” − a criticism that implies political activism to create new laws or policies via judicial decisions.
“I’m not pro or anti anything. If the law is on your side, you should win. And that keeps me grounded because I’m not an outcome or results oriented jurist,” Stewart said. “Sometimes I have to hold my nose at decisions.”
As an example, Stewart pointed to a 7-0 decision that ultimately allowed Ralph Bortree to be released from prison and his attempted murder conviction tossed out. Although genetic sleuthing and genealogy databases tied Bortree to a 1993 cold case, his conviction came after the statute of limitations had run out, the court decided. He was immediately released from prison.
Stewart said Deters’ opinion in the infamous “boneless chicken wing” case could be viewed as legislating from the bench. Deters wrote that, essentially, no reasonable person would think that boneless chicken actually means boneless.
Stewart called the opinion legally inaccurate, bizarre and devoid of common sense.
Abortion cases
Abortion cases are more likely to find their way to the Ohio Supreme Court now that the Dobbs ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court said abortion restrictions are up to states to decide. Likewise, Ohio voters in 2023 approved a constitutional amendment covering reproductive rights. So, any legal questions regarding how that amendment should be interpreted and applied will likely be decided by the Ohio Supreme Court.
The Democrats running for the Supreme Court are endorsed by Planned Parenthood while the Republicans are backed by Ohio Right to Life.
All six candidates said they pledge to follow the constitution and law.
Criminal sentencing database
The Ohio Sentencing Commission scrapped a contract it held with University of Cincinnati that aimed to get judges to use the same form for writing their criminal sentencing decisions. Ultimately, the goal was to create a database of criminal sentencing decisions so that the courts and researchers could identify trends, biases and areas for improvement.
Some judges didn’t like the idea of a searchable database and raised questions about how the data would be used.
The commission, which is chaired by Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, is now deciding its next steps.
Stewart said she supports creating a database, saying it would be an invaluable tool for judges. Data could help inform decisions and be a check against bias, she said.
“For anybody to deny the impact and the effects of bias, particularly implicit or unconscious bias, is just to have your head in the sand,” she said.
How Stewart ruled on key cases
Bail Conditions: In a 4-3 decision issued in January 2022, the court said that excessive money bail is unconstitutional. The ruling led law-and-order Republicans, including Deters and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, to campaign for a constitutional amendment that requires judges to consider the seriousness of the crime and public safety when setting bail amounts. Stewart, who joined the majority opinion, said courts already had the option to hold someone in jail pre-trial if evidence showed a threat to public safety. Voters approved the bail amendment.
Redistricting: Stewart joined fellow Democrats and then-Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor in multiple rulings that found legislative and congressional district maps to be unconstitutional.
Privacy: Stewart dissented in a 4-3 ruling that workers could not sue employers for invasion of privacy if they were required to give drug test urine samples under the “direct observation method.” Stewart disagreed with the premise that the workers had consented to be watched while urinating in a cup because they were threatened with job loss if they refused.
Public Records: Stewart dissented in the 4-3 ruling that said expense records for the governor’s security team’s trip to the Super Bowl in California to watch the Cincinnati Bengals play the LA Rams were not public records. Republicans on the court said the travel expenses fell under the security records exemption in the law. Deters, who attended the game but not with the DeWine entourage, joined the majority opinion.
Deters and Stewart were on the same side of another public records decision. In April, the court said names and addresses contained in a state database of people who died are not subject to disclosure under the state’s open records laws. Justices decided that particular information is protected health info.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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Publish date : 2024-09-09 14:59:00
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