4-0 Victory in Ohio Elections Commission 10/19/06

The Ohio Elections Commission ruled 4-0 on October 19 that our opponent's charges against our television advertising was not supported by probable cause, and the charges were dismissed. The hearing took about 40 minutes in a Columbus hearing room. Our opponent had asked for an injunction forcing the ad off the air and referral to the Hamilton County Prosecutor for court action against us.

According to our notes and recollection while sitting next to the podium, the lawyer presenting the opponent's case asserted in his argument to the Commission that there is no pornography being sold in Hamilton County. He further asserted that it was false to use the words "alleged rape victim" as we did in our ad. He asserted that a rape "accuser" is not a rape "victim" until and unless the crime of rape is proven and a rape conviction is obtained. We will post excerpts from the transcript as soon as it is obtained, as it will make fascinating reading for voters in Hamilton County.

POST ENDORSEMENT

We are very pleased that the Cincinnati Post endorsed our candidacy on October 19. The editorial is available through cincypost.com. Together with the Enquirer and Cincinnati Bar Association endorsements, we are grateful for the support.

Endorsed By The Enquirer

The lead editorial in the Oct. 15 Sunday Enquirer (Forum page 2) endorsed our candidacy for the Court of Appeals. It is gratifying to see their thoughtful analysis of the competing candidates. We can hope that more contested elections in future Hamilton County races will bring out such careful analyses of the competing candidates. Sunday evening meetings at Southern Baptist Church and at the Finneytown Civic Association demonstrated that many voters had read the Enquirer's views and were supportive of our efforts.

HOORAY FOR TEACHERS!

This week's endorsement by the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers was especially gratifying. They know the courts; they teach our young people; they work tirelessly for the good of our community. I am proud that four of the six siblings in my family are in education, and that each of them worked hard to get there, earning two Ph.Ds, an MD and a JD. Because we are teachers, we know that we must "stand and deliver", as the Irish expression says; we must be prepared, must be good listeners, must be good communicators. Of all the awards and prizes, my most cherished is the Waterford glass bowl presented to me by the College of Law for 25 years of teaching and service. The listening, teaching and communicating skills will be fully involved in the work of the court of appeals; I will read carefully the briefs filed, ask questions of the advocates, express opinions with due care for the case precedents, constitutional provisions and statutes, and reach out to the community as a lecturer to schools and civic groups. Thank you, teachers, for your warm welcome and for your support!

Causing Ripples to Grow into a Wave

The Enquirer's Oct. 4 story at B1, "Judge Candidates Turn to TV", accurately recaps the current state of the judiciary here: "Elections for judges generally bring yawns and cause few ripples because the Hamilton County judiciary is so overwhelmingly controlled by Republicans." The six months of our very extensive door to door visits, 1-to-1 conversation which have yielded so much visible support throughout the County, have grown from a "ripple" to a wave of support. As we have gone to so many parades, community festivals, community council meetings, civic and club meetings, it has been heartening to feel the wave of public sentiment for change in our courts.

We have been heartened by so many attorneys sharing their desire for us to bring our very qualified perspective to the appeals court. But out there beyond the lawyers, beyond the business managers and professional people who have been supporting us, are the residents of so many neighborhoods who have expressed their desire for change. Thank you, Cleves and Colerain, Terrace Park and Deer Park, we hear you. A good teacher is a good listener, and their voices will be heard in the Court of Appeals.

Contributor Influence Alleged By Journalists

The New York Times for October 1 (and the Cincinnati Enquirer via reprint on Oct. 1) reported that Ohio Supreme Court decisions appear to be influenced by campaign contributions, and that in some cases the influence may affect outcomes. One Justice "voted for his contributors 91 percent of the time, the highest rate of any justice on the court."

This is not unsurprising to students of the Ohio judiciary. As an invited presenter on the symposium celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Ohio Supreme Court, I had observed the same problems. The Times correctly noted: "(N)owhere is the battle for judicial seats more ferocious than in Ohio."

It will be interesting to see the reaction to this developing story in the weeks to come.

Judicial Advertising

The Sept. 29 e-newsletter "Whistleblower" states that a local judicial candidate is spending his wife's money on his campaign.

Sadly there are only two of us who are campaigning, since the other 7 are getting their positions free of campaign cost, without having any opposition.

If indeed the wife of the only other local judicial candidate is doing so, that is his (and her) constitutional right.

I am pleased to have more than 200 donors to my campaign and they have been terrific supporters. In addition to these funds, I have loaned money to my campaign from my retirement savings, in order to balance the opponent's $104,000 television purchase. But for the record, my wife has not been asked and has not made donations to the campaign. She works hard as a teacher of disabled children and adults and has not been a financial donor to my campaign.

I SUPPORT MOYER ON BUSINESS COURT DOCKETS

In his Sept. 14 speech on the State of the Judiciary in Ohio, Chief Justice Moyer referenced the new study of court dockets that would deal with business litigation. The study is to be co-chaired by Cincinnati Bar President Patrick Fischer. Moyer said in part:

“Advocates of a commercial litigation docket emphasize that most kinds of business litigation is different from other litigation in the number of documents and witnesses required, the extent of the motion practice, discovery disputes, other applications to the court, and the complexity of the legal issues. Often such cases benefit from advanced case management techniques, the availability of dispute resolution and technology. We in Ohio are living with a dramatically changed economy. We should be able to say to the entities of a new economy that the court system in this state is prepared to facilitate the resolution of legal disputes presented in complicated business and technology cases.”

I am well prepared for the new approach. During my 24 years at Procter & Gamble I saw from the inside the complexities of these commercial cases. Both through arbitration and skillful litigation, P&G was able to favorably resolve the great majority of its commercial disputes. The lessons I learned there will be very helpful in assessing the appeals that arise in complex civil cases. Unlike criminal law prosecutors, those of us who worked with commercial and civil law disputes understand the sophisticated ways in which modern complex litigation must be resolved.

I applaud the initiatives by Chief Justice Moyer and I am well prepared to deal with the appeals from such a valuable improvement in our Common Pleas system.