Skip to main content

Justices 1803 to Present

As a joint research project of the Supreme Court of Ohio and the Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society), biographies of Ohio's Supreme Court justices are not intended to be comprehensive histories of their life and times. The entries offer brief biographical sketches that focus mainly on their judicial, legal and public service. Readers who find omissions or errors are encouraged to contact the Office of Public Information at PublicInformation@sc.ohio.gov.

Justices by Term Since 1913

* Served as Chief Justice.
** Did not attend law school. As was common at the time, he studied law with a prominent local attorney or judge.

No. Bio Name Term County of Residence Law School
1 Bio Return Jonanthan Meigs Jr. 1803-1804; 1808-1809 Washington **
10 Bio Jessup Nash Couch 1815-1821 Ross **
100 Bio Roy Hughes Williams 1934-1946 Erie University of Michigan
101 Bio Arthur H. Day 1935-1940 Cuyahoga Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
102 Bio George S. Myers 1937-1940 Cuyahoga Western Reserve University
103 Bio Robert Nestor Gorman 1937-1938 Hamilton Harvard University
104 Bio William Cornelius Dixon 1938-1939 Cuyahoga University of Michigan
105 Bio Edward Crawford Turner 1940-1950 Franklin Ohio State University
106 Bio Gilbert Bettman 1941-1942 Hamilton Harvard University
107 Bio Charles Steele Bell 1942-1947 Hamilton Cincinnati YMCA Evening Law School
108 Bio Robert Mason Sohngen 1947-1948 Butler Cornell University
109 Bio James Garfield Stewart 1947-1959 Hamilton University of Cincinnati
11 Bio John McLean 1816-1822 Warren **
110 Bio Kingsley Arter Taft 1949-1962; *1963-1970 Cuyahoga Harvard University
111 Bio Howard Elliott Faught 1950 Guernsey Ohio State University
112 Bio Henry Arthur Middleton 1950-1954 Lucas Ohio State University
113 Bio John Howard Lamneck 1953-1954 Tuscarawas **
114 Bio John Marshall Matthias 1954-1970 Franklin Ohio State University
115 Bio James Finley Bell 1955-1962 Madison Ohio State University
116 Bio Thomas John Herbert 1957-1962 Cuyahoga Western Reserve University
117 Bio John Weld Peck 1959-1960 Hamilton University of Cincinnati
118 Bio C. William O'Neill 1960-1970; *1970-1978 Washington Ohio State University
119 Bio Lynn Bart Griffith 1962-1964 Trumbull Western Reserve University
12 Bio Calvin Pease 1816-1830 Trumbull **
120 Bio Rankin MacDougal Gibson 1963-1964 Franklin University of Missouri
121 Bio Paul Morgan Herbert 1963-1968 Franklin Ohio State University
122 Bio Louis Jacob Schneider Jr. 1964-1972 Hamilton University of Cincinnati
123 Bio Paul Wesley Brown 1964-1968; 1973-1981 Franklin Ohio State University
124 Bio Robert Morton Duncan 1969-1971 Franklin Ohio State University
125 Bio Thomas Morgan Herbert 1969-1980 Franklin Ohio State University
126 Bio James Joseph Patrick (J.J.P.) Corrigan 1969-1976 Cuyahoga Georgetown University
127 Bio Leonard J. Stern 1970-1977 Franklin Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
128 Bio Robert E. Leach 1970-1972; *1978 Franklin Ohio State University
129 Bio Lloyd Odom Brown 1971-1973 Cuyahoga Ohio State University
13 Bio Peter Marshall Hitchcock 1819-1833; 1835-1842; 1845-1852 Geauga **
130 Bio Frank Daniel Celebrezze 1972-1978; *1978-1986 Cuyahoga Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
131 Bio William Burbridge Brown 1973-1984 Ross Harvard University
132 Bio Asher William Sweeney 1977-1994 Hamilton Duke University
133 Bio Ralph Sidney Locher 1977-1989 Cuyahoga Case Western Reserve University
134 Bio Robert Edward Holmes 1978-1992 Franklin Ohio State University
135 Bio David Dudley Dowd Jr. 1980-1981 Franklin University of Michigan
136 Bio Clifford Francis Brown 1981-1987 Huron University of Notre Dame
137 Bio Blanche Ethel Krupansky 1981-1983 Franklin Case Western Reserve University
138 Bio James Patrick Celebrezze 1983-1985 Cuyahoga Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
139 Bio Andrew (Andy) Grant Douglas 1985-2002 Lucas University of Toledo
14 Bio Jacob Burnet 1821-1828 Hamilton **
140 Bio J. Craig Wright 1985-1996 Franklin Yale University
141 Bio Thomas Joseph Moyer *1987-2010 Franklin Ohio State University
142 Bio Herbert Russell Brown 1987-1993 Franklin University of Michigan
143 Bio Alice Robie Resnick 1989-2007 Lucas University of Detroit
144 Bio Francis Edward Sweeney Sr. 1993-2004 Cuyahoga Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
145 Bio Deborah Louise Cook 1995-2003 Summit University of Akron
146 Bio Paul E. Pfeifer 1993-2017 Crawford Ohio State University
147 Bio Evelyn Lundberg Stratton 1996-2013 Franklin Ohio State University
148 Bio Maureen O'Connor 2003-2010 *2011-2022 Cuyahoga Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
149 Bio Terrence O'Donnell 2003-2018 Cuyahoga Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
15 Bio Charles Robert Sherman 1823-1829 Fairfield **
150 Bio Judith Ann Lanzinger 2005-2016 Lucas University of Toledo
151 Bio Robert R. Cupp 2007-2013 Allen Ohio Northern University
152 Bio Eric Brown *2010 Franklin Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
153 Bio Yvette McGee Brown 2011-2012 Franklin Ohio State University
154 Bio Sharon L. Kennedy 2012- Butler University of Cincinnati
155 Bio Judith L. French 2013-2021 Franklin Ohio State University
156 Bio William M. O'Neill 2013-2018 Cuyahoga Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
157 Bio Patrick F. Fischer 2017- Hamilton Harvard University
158 Bio R. Patrick DeWine 2017- Hamilton University of Michigan
159 Bio Mary DeGenaro 2018-2019 Mahoning Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
16 Bio Joshua Collett 1829-1836 Warren **
160 Bio Michael P. Donnelly 2019- Cuyahoga Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
161 Bio Melody J. Stewart 2019- Cuyahoga Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
162 Bio Jennifer Brunner 2021 - Columbiana Capital University Law School
163 Bio Joseph T. Deters 2023- **
17 Bio Elijah Hayward 1830 Hamilton **
18 Bio John Milton Goodenow 1830 Jefferson **
19 Bio Henry Brush 1830 Ross **
2 Bio William Sprigg 1803-1806; 1808-1810 Jefferson **
20 Bio Gustave Swan 1830 Franklin **
21 Bio Ebenezer Lane 1830-1845 Huron **
22 Bio John Crafts Wright 1831-1835 Jefferson **
23 Bio Reuben Wood 1833-1847 Cuyahoga **
24 Bio Frederick Grimke 1836-1842 Ross **
25 Bio Matthew Birchard 1842-1849 Trumbull **
26 Bio Nathaniel Clark Reed 1842-1849 Hamilton **
27 Bio Edward Avery 1847-1851 Wayne **
28 Bio Rufus Paine Spaulding 1849-1852 Summit **
29 Bio William B. Caldwell 1849-1852 Hamilton **
3 Bio Samuel Huntington 1803-1808 Trumbull **
30 Bio Rufus Percival Ranney 1851-1856; 1864-1865 Trumbull **
31 Bio Thomas Welles Bartley 1852-1859 Richland **
32 Bio John A. Corwin 1852-1854 Champaign **
33 Bio Allen Granberry Thurman 1852-1856 Ross **
34 Bio Robert Bruce Warden 1854-1855 Franklin **
35 Bio William Kennon 1854-1856 Belmont **
36 Bio Joseph Rockwell Swan 1855-1859 Franklin **
37 Bio Charles Cleveland Convers 1856 Muskingum Harvard University
38 Bio Jacob Brinkerhoff 1856-1871 Richland **
39 Bio Ozias Bowen 1856-1858 Marion **
4 Bio Daniel Symmes 1805-1808 Hamilton **
40 Bio Josiah Scott 1857-1872 Butler **
41 Bio Milton Sutliff 1858-1863 Trumbull **
42 Bio William Virgil Peck 1859-1864 Scioto Litchfield Law School
43 Bio William Yates Gholson 1859-1863 Hamilton **
44 Bio Horace Wilder 1863-1865 Ashtabula **
45 Bio Hocking H. Hunter 1864 Fairfield **
46 Bio William White 1864-1883 Clark **
47 Bio Luther Day 1866-1875 Portage **
48 Bio John Welch 1865-1878 Athens **
49 Bio George W. McIlvaine 1871-1886 Tuscarawas **
5 Bio George Tod 1806-1810 Trumbull Litchfield Law School
50 Bio William Henry West 1872-1873 Logan **
51 Bio Walter Freeman Stone 1873-1874 Erie **
52 Bio George Rex 1874-1877 Wayne **
53 Bio William James Gilmore 1875-1880 Preble **
54 Bio Washington Wallace Boynton 1877-1881 Lorain **
55 Bio John Waterman Okey 1878-1885 Hamilton **
56 Bio William Wartenbee Johnson 1880-1886 Lawrence **
57 Bio Nicholas Longworth 1881-1883 Hamilton **
58 Bio William Hanford Upson 1883 Summit **
59 Bio John Hardy Doyle 1883 Lucas **
6 Bio Thomas Scott 1809-1816 Ross **
60 Bio Martin Dewey Follett 1883-1887 Washington **
61 Bio Selwyn N. Owen 1883-1889 Williams University of Cincinnati
62 Bio Gibson Atherton 1885 Licking **
63 Bio William Thomas Spear 1885-1912 Trumbull **
64 Bio Thaddeus Armstrong Minshall 1886-1902 Ross **
65 Bio Franklin Joseph Dickman 1886-1895 Cuyahoga **
66 Bio Marshall Jay Williams 1887-1902 Fayette **
67 Bio Joseph Perry Bradbury 1889-1900 Gallia **
68 Bio Jacob F. Burket 1893-1904 Hancock **
69 Bio John Allen Shauck 1895-1915 Montgomery **
7 Bio Thomas Morris 1809 Clermont **
70 Bio William Zephaniah Davis 1900-1913 Marion **
71 Bio James Latimer Price 1902-1912 Allen **
72 Bio William Binford Crew 1902-1911 Morgan **
73 Bio Augustus Neander Summers 1904-1911 Clark **
74 Bio James Granville Johnson 1911-1922 Clark **
75 Bio Maurice Herbert Donahue 1911-1919 Perry **
76 Bio Joseph William O'Hara 1912-1913 Hamilton University of Cincinnati
77 Bio James Foster Wilkin 1912-1914 Tuscarawas **
78 Bio Reuben Melville (R.M.) Wanamaker 1913-1924 Summit Ohio Northern University
79 Bio Oscar W. Newman 1913-1919 Scioto **
8 Bio William W. Irwin 1810-1816 Fairfield **
80 Bio Hugh L. Nichols *1913-1920 Clermont University of Cincinnati
81 Bio Thomas Alfred Jones 1915-1937 Jackson **
82 Bio Edward Shiloh Matthias 1915-1953 Van Wert Ohio Northern University
83 Bio James Edgar Robinson 1919-1932 Union Ohio State University
84 Bio Stanley W. Merrell 1919-1920 Hamilton Harvard University
85 Bio Coleman W. Avery 1920 Hamilton University of Cincinnati
86 Bio Benson Walker Hough 1920-1922 Delaware Ohio State University
87 Bio Carrington Tanner Marshall *1921-1932 Muskingum University of Cincinnati
88 Bio George H. Clark 1922 Stark University of Cincinnati
89 Bio Robert Henry Day 1923-1933 Stark University of Cincinnati
9 Bio Ethan Allen Brown 1810-1818 Hamilton **
90 Bio Florence Ellinwood Allen 1923-1934 Cuyahoga New York University
91 Bio Harry Luther Conn 1924 Van Wert **
92 Bio Reynolds Robert Kinkade 1925-1933 Lucas **
93 Bio Will Prettyman Stephenson 1932-1936 Adams University of Cincinnati
94 Bio Carl Victor Weygandt *1933-1962 Cuyahoga Western Reserve University
95 Bio Howard Landis Bevis 1933-1934 Hamilton University of Cincinnati
96 Bio Charles Ballard Zimmerman 1933-1969 Clark Harvard University
97 Bio Robert Nugen Wilkin 1934 Tuscarawas University of Virginia
98 Bio William Lincoln Hart 1934; 1939-1957 Stark University of Michigan
99 Bio William Frederic (W.F.) Garver 1934 Holmes Ohio State University
Word files may be viewed for free with Office Online.
PDF Files may be viewed, printed, and searched using the Free Acrobat® Reader. Acrobat Reader is a trademark of Adobe Inc.