May 7, 2010
OSBA Creates Award Named After Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer
At its annual convention luncheon, the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) Thursday announced the creation of the Thomas J. Moyer Award for Judicial Excellence, in honor of the late Chief Justice. Mary Moyer, wife of Chief Justice Moyer, accepted the first award posthumously on his behalf.
The prestigious award honors a current or former Ohio state or federal judge who demonstrates outstanding qualities of judicial excellence including integrity, fairness, open-mindedness, knowledge of the law, professionalism, ethics, creativity, sound judgment, courage, and decisiveness.
Chief Justice Moyer died unexpectedly on April 2 eight months shy of the end of his fourth and final six-year term on the Court. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving current Chief Justice in the country and the second longest-serving Chief Justice in the history of the Supreme Court of Ohio.
As the nomination form notes: “The ideal nominee will have had a distinguished life-long career committed to the advancement of the rule of law and the administration of justice.”
Officers from the OSBA and Ohio Judicial Conference will form the nominating committee while the OSBA Board of Governors will select the recipient based on the committee’s recommendation.
The OSBA also established the Thomas J. Moyer Fund at the Ohio State Bar Foundation, made an initial contribution of $1,000 in Chief Justice Moyer’s name and will make a similar contribution each year to honor each award recipient. Chief Justice Moyer’s family will be given the opportunity to designate the use of the fund.
Meanwhile, the foundation announced on Thursday that it had made a $25,000 contribution to the Moyer fund with an additional pledge of up to $25,000 more in matching funds.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow at 614.387.9250.