Collegiality rules in races for high court

Running to be a judge — or at the highest level, an Ohio Supreme Court justice — is unlike any other political exercise in Ohio.

It’s a clash of qualifications and legal concepts, rather than issues, with judicial campaign rules forbidding personal commentary and attacks.

It’s a generally collegial exercise as witnessed Friday when the Democrat, Melody Stewart, and Republican, appointed Justice Mary DeGenaro, running for the same Ohio Supreme Court seat greeted each other with a warm hug and shop talk.

The two judges squaring off over the other Supreme Court seat in the Nov. 6 election — Democrat Michael Donnelly and Republican Craig Baldwin — also participated in discussing the law and improvements to the judiciary Friday at the Federalist Society’s annual conference at The Westin Downtown.

The event gave the judges a chance to introduce themselves, their philosophies and their take on the law to nearly 200 lawyers. None of the four candidates faces primary opposition and Baldwin Donnelly

will appear on the fall ballot without their political affiliations listed.

DeGenaro had served on the Youngstown-based 7th District Court of Appeals since 2000 before her appointment by Gov. John Kasich on Jan. 25 to fill the unexpired term of Justice William M. O’Neill. The court’s lone Democrat resigned to run for governor. DeGenaro is running against Stewart, a classically trained pianist who has served on the 8th District Court of Appeals in Cleveland since 2007.

Baldwin has sat on the Canton-based 5th District Court of Appeals since 2013. He previously served eight years as a domestic relations judge in Licking County Common Pleas Four candidates for two Ohio Supreme Court seats take part in a panel discussion at the Federalist Society’s annual conference. They were at the Westin Downtown on Friday. From left are Melody Stewart, Michael Donnelly, Mary DeGenaro and Craig Baldwin.

Court in Newark. Donnelly has served on Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland since 2005. Baldwin and Donnelly are competing to succeed Justice Terrence O’Donnell, a Republican being ousted by the mandatory judicial retirement age of 70.

Most of Friday’s panel discussion with the four candidates dwelled on topics only lawyers can love, but they were asked what role judges should play in the

fight against Ohio’s deadly opioid addiction and overdose death crisis.

“There’s no way we’re going to incarcerate our way out of this crisis,” said Donnelly, a supporter of specialty drug and mentalhealth courts focused on rehabilitation and treatment rather than criminal punishment for offenses. Baldwin said he at first was a doubter of specialty dockets, but later became convinced of their effectiveness because

they can be “flexible and nimble.”

DeGenaro and Stewart said the judiciary’s role is limited to options such as drug courts, with Stewart saying another needed element — more money for more treatment options for drug addicts — is beyond the judiciary’s control.

Ohio Supreme Court justices serve six-year terms.