Colleen O'Toole

Colleen O'Toole

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals

---

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 19, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

John Carroll University, 1983

Law

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, 1990

float:right;
border:1px solid #FFB81F;
background-color: white;
width: 250px;
font-size: .9em;
margin-bottom:0px;

} .infobox p { margin-bottom: 0; } .widget-row { display: inline-block; width: 100%; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; } .widget-row.heading { font-size: 1.2em; } .widget-row.value-only { text-align: center; background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.value-only.white { background-color: #f9f9f9; } .widget-row.value-only.black { background-color: #f9f9f9; color: black; } .widget-row.Democratic { background-color: #003388; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Republican { background-color: red; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Independent, .widget-row.Nonpartisan, .widget-row.Constitution { background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Libertarian { background-color: #f9d334; color: black; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Green { background-color: green; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-key { width: 43%; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; vertical-align: top; font-weight: bold; } .widget-value { width: 57%; float: right; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; word-wrap: break-word; } .widget-img { width: 150px; display: block; margin: auto; } .clearfix { clear: both; }

Colleen O'Toole was a judge of the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals. She assumed office on February 9, 2013. She left office on February 8, 2019.

O'Toole (Republican Party) ran for election for judge of the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals. She lost in the Republican primary on March 19, 2024.

Biography

Judge O'Toole received her undergraduate degree in history and political science from John Carroll University in 1984 and her J.D. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1991.

Judge O'Toole began her legal career in 1991 as a law clerk and a litigation and appellate attorney in the Cuyahoga County Public Defender's Office. After this, she worked as a litigation manager for the National Interstate Company. In 1995, she began working as counsel with the firm Kramer and Niermann, LPA. Then, in 1998, she opened her own practice, Law Offices of Colleen M. O'Toole. She has practiced in the areas of civil, criminal, corporate and family law. In 2004, she was elected to the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals.

Elections

2024

See also: Ohio intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

General election

General election for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals

Scott Lynch won election in the general election for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Scott Lynch (R)	100.0	253,609

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 253,609
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals

Scott Lynch defeated Colleen O'Toole in the Republican primary for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Scott Lynch	55.6	41,975
		Colleen O'Toole	44.4	33,505

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 75,480
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

   .ballot-measure-endorsements p {
       display: inline;
   }
   .ballot-measure-endorsements td {
       width: 35% !important;
   }
   .endorsements-header {
       margin-top: 10px !important;
       margin-bottom: 5px !important;
   }
   .ballot-measure-endorsements ul {
       margin-top: 0 !important;
       margin-bottom: 0 !important;
   }
   .split-cols-bm {
       columns: 2;
       -webkit-columns: 2;
       -moz-columns: 2;
   }
   @media screen and (max-width: 792px) {
       .split-cols-bm {
           columns: 1;
           -webkit-columns: 1;
           -moz-columns: 1;
       }
   }

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for O'Toole in this election.

2018

See also: Ohio intermediate appellate court elections, 2018

General election

General election for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals

Matt Lynch defeated Darya Klammer in the general election for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Lynch (R)	55.5	142,373
		Darya Klammer (D)	44.5	114,022

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 256,395
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals

Darya Klammer advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Darya Klammer	100.0	2,924

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 2,924
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals

Matt Lynch defeated incumbent Colleen O'Toole in the Republican primary for Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Lynch	56.4	31,107
		Colleen O'Toole	43.6	24,084

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 55,191
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Selection method

The judges of the Ohio District Courts of Appeals are selected through partisan primary elections followed by nonpartisan general elections. Courts of appeals candidates are chosen in their respective appellate districts. In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement. The appointee serves until the next general election taking place 40 or more days after the vacancy occurred. If re-elected, the judge serves the remainder of his or her predecessor's unexpired term. In 2007, Governor Ted Strickland issued an executive order creating a judicial appointment recommendation panel to assist in making new appointments. The panel evaluates applicants and advises the governor, but the governor is not bound to the panel's recommendations.

Qualifications

To serve on the court, a judge must be:

• a district resident;
• at least six years in the practice of law; and
• under the age of 70.

Selection of the chief judge

The chief judge of the Ohio District Courts of Appeal is chosen by peer vote and serves for one year.

2016

See also: Ohio Supreme Court elections, 2016

O'Toole ran in 2016 for the Ohio Supreme Court. She was defeated by Ohio First District Court of Appeals Judge Pat Fischer in the Republican primary on March 15, 2016.

March 15 primary

Ohio Supreme Court, Justice Lazinger's Seat Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Pat Fischer	54.26%	761,771
	Republican	Colleen O'Toole	45.74%	642,048
Total Votes				1,403,819
Source: Ohio Secretary of State Official Results

2012

O'Toole was elected to the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals. She defeated incumbent Mary Jane Trapp in the general election on November 6, winning 51.15 percent of the vote.

See also: Ohio judicial elections, 2012

Misconduct violations

One month before the election, O'Toole was found guilty of two violations of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct. The Ohio Supreme Court fined the candidate after advertisements claiming she was a judge were deemed misleading to voters. (O'Toole previously served as a judge.) O'Toole was also found guilty of wearing a name badge that read "Judge 11th District Court of Appeals." In response to that charge, the candidate said: "Basically, they found me guilty of a wardrobe violation."

2010

Main article: Ohio judicial elections, 2010

O'Toole ran for re-election to the Eleventh District Court of Appeals in 2010. She lost in the Republican primary to Lake County Common Pleas Judge Eugene A. Lucci.

Lucci filed a complaint against O'Toole with the Ohio Elections Commission, claiming that she committed violations of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct. He alleged that she misrepresented her qualifications in a flier that stated she has been a practicing attorney for about 20 years. In fact, Lucci said that she has been an attorney for less than 19 years. He also claimed that O'Toole misrepresented details of a sentence he handed down in the case of a 63-year-old woman convicted of selling counterfeit handbags. The three-year sentence handed down by Lucci was overturned by the Court of Appeals. O'Toole reportedly said that Lucci "made a mistake in evidence law and violated the constitutional rights" of the defendant, to which Lucci replied, "This... was not a constitutional rights issue or violation — it was simply a matter of Ohio law and the sufficiency of evidence needed to prove trademark registration."

O'Toole filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission in response, taking issue with a mailing Lucci sent, which O'Toole claimed contains false statements in a "disparaging manner, and perverted the numbers about Judge O’Toole’s affirmation rate before the Ohio Supreme Court."

On April 1, 2010, the Commission ruled that all the complaints from O'Toole and Lucci had no merit and dismissed the complaints.

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel

External links

   .contact_entity {font-size: 1.5em ;margin-top: 0.6em; margin-bottom: 0em;margin-right: 0.5em;}
   .contact_office { margin-top: 0.3em; margin-bottom: 0em;margin-right: 0.5em;}
   .external_links_table { width: auto !important; }
   @media (max-width:600px) {
       .contact_entity {font-size: 1.0em ;margin-top: 0.6em; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 0.5em;}
       .contact_office { font-size: 0.8 em; margin-top: 0.6em; margin-bottom: 0em;margin-right: 0.5em;}  
   }

Search Google News for this topic