Jan. 20, 2009
Judicial Election Rule Reconsidered
The Supreme Court of Ohio today announced that it has reinstated a prohibition on judicial candidates identifying their party affiliation in general election campaign advertising. This was a reconsideration of the provision of the revised Code of Judicial Conduct that was announced last month.
The Justices voted 5-2 last week to reinstate the provision, which has been in existence since 1995. The prohibition had been lifted in a comprehensive rewrite of the Code of Judicial Conduct that was announced Dec. 30. All other provisions of the revised rules remain in effect.
The Court reconsidered the rule change at its Jan. 13 conference upon further discussion among the Justices. Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer indicated that the Justices determined that the continued prohibition on identifying party affiliation in judicial campaign advertising in the general election serves to emphasize the non-partisan nature of judicial elections in Ohio, which is set in law by the General Assembly.
Voting to reinstate the provision were Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer and Justices Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Maureen O’Connor, Terrence O’Donnell and Robert R. Cupp. Justices Paul E. Pfeifer and Judith Ann Lanzinger voted no, citing the United States Supreme Court’s 2002 decision Minnesota Republican Party V. White (536 U.S. 765 (2002)), which struck down a specific restriction on judicial candidate speech in that state.
However, the Justices in the majority in voting to reinstate the Ohio rule announced today said Minnesota v. White dealt with the narrow issue of the so-called “announce clause,” an outdated provision of the American Bar Association’s Model Code of Judicial Conduct that prohibited judicial candidates from announcing their views on disputed political issues.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow at 614.387.9250.