Sharon L. Kennedy
2023 - Present
2029
2
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Sharon L. Kennedy (Republican Party) is the Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice. She assumed office on January 1, 2023. Her current term ends on January 1, 2029.
Kennedy (Republican Party) ran for re-election for Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Kennedy was the ninth woman to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court.[1][2][3][4] To read more about judicial selection in Ohio, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[5] Kennedy received a confidence score of Strong Republican.[6] Click here to read more about this study.
Biography
Sharon L. Kennedy graduated from Northwest Local High School in 1980. Kennedy earned a bachelor's degree in social work and J.D. from the University of Cincinnati. Her career expereience includes working as a police officer with the Hamilton Police Department, the director of the Victim/Witness Division of the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, an attorney in private practice, the disciplinary counsel for the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 38, the special counsel to former Ohio Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery, a magistrate and warrant officer for the Butler County area courts, a warrant and compliance officer for the Butler County Juvenile Court, and an administrative judge in the Domestic Relations Division with the Butler County Court of Common Pleas.[7][8][9][10]
Elections
2022
See also: Ohio Supreme Court elections, 2022
General election
General election for Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice
Incumbent Sharon L. Kennedy defeated incumbent Jennifer L. Brunner in the general election for Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Sharon L. Kennedy (R) | 56.1 | 2,307,415 |
 | Jennifer L. Brunner (D)  | 43.9 | 1,807,133 | |
| Total votes: 4,114,548 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice
Incumbent Jennifer L. Brunner advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice on May 3, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer L. Brunner | 100.0 | 445,711 |
| Total votes: 445,711 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice
Incumbent Sharon L. Kennedy advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice on May 3, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sharon L. Kennedy | 100.0 | 814,717 |
| Total votes: 814,717 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Campaign finance
2020
See also: Ohio Supreme Court elections, 2020
General election
General election for Ohio Supreme Court
Incumbent Sharon L. Kennedy defeated John P. O'Donnell in the general election for Ohio Supreme Court on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sharon L. Kennedy (Nonpartisan) | 55.1 | 2,735,041 |
 | John P. O'Donnell (Nonpartisan) | 44.9 | 2,231,724 | |
| Total votes: 4,966,765 | |||
| = 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 Supreme Court
John P. O'Donnell advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio Supreme Court on April 28, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John P. O'Donnell | 100.0 | 659,196 |
| Total votes: 659,196 | |||
| = 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 Supreme Court
Incumbent Sharon L. Kennedy advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio Supreme Court on April 28, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sharon L. Kennedy | 100.0 | 637,255 |
| Total votes: 637,255 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2014
Kennedy ran for re-election to the Ohio Supreme Court. She defeated Democratic candidate Tom Letson in the general election on November 4, 2014, receiving 72.5 percent of the vote.[4]
2012
- See also: Ohio judicial elections, 2012
Kennedy was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2012. She defeated incumbent Justice Yvette McGee Brown in the general election on November 6, winning 57.02% of the vote.[11][12]
2010
Kennedy was re-elected to the Butler County Court of Common Pleas after running unopposed.[13]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Sharon L. Kennedy did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Sharon L. Kennedy did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[14]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[15]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
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Sharon
Kennedy
Ohio
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Strong Republican - Judicial Selection Method:
Elected - Key Factors:
- Was a registered Republican as of 2020
- Donated over $2,000 to Republican candidates
- Received donations from Republican-affiliated individuals or organizations
Partisan Profile
Details:
Kennedy was a registered Republican as of 2020. She donated $2,695 to Republican candidates. She received $13,000 from the State Farm PAC, which donates to Republican candidates more frequently than Democrats. She was endorsed by Buckeye Firearms Association PAC and the Cincinnati Right to Life PAC, both of which endorse Republican candidates more frequently than Democrats. Ohio was a Republican trifecta when she was elected.
Noteworthy cases
Ohio Supreme Court limits Chevron deference (2023)
- See also: Chevron deference
The Ohio Supreme Court on December 29, 2022, ruled against applications of Chevron deference in the state. In TWISM Ents., L.L.C. v. State Bd. of Registration for Professional Engineers & Surveyors, the court found that state courts do not need to defer to state agency interpretations of the law—a deference doctrine known as Chevron deference at the federal level.[16]
Lower courts in TWISM deferred to the Ohio Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors’ interpretation of its engineering certification rules, which denied TWISM Enterprises’ application to provide professional engineering services because the company’s designated licensed engineer was an independent contractor rather than an employee. TWISM Enterprises appealed the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court, arguing that the agency’s interpretation of the governing statute was flawed because the law does not specify that the licensed engineer must be an employee of the business.[16]
Justice Pat DeWine (with Justices Sharon L. Kennedy, Pat Fischer, and Michael P. Donnelly concurring) disagreed with the agency’s interpretation of the statute and argued that the judicial branch has the authority to determine whether the statutory interpretations of state agencies are lawful. DeWine, writing for the court, argued “that it is the role of the judiciary, not administrative agencies, to make the ultimate determination about what the law means. Thus, the judicial branch is never required to defer to an agency's interpretation of the law.” DeWine added that “an agency interpretation is simply one consideration a court may sometimes take into account in rendering the court's own independent judgment as to what the law is.”[16]
Justices Maureen O’Connor, Melody Stewart, and Jennifer Brunner concurred in the judgment only.[16]
State supreme court judicial selection in Ohio
- See also: Judicial selection in Ohio
The seven justices of the Ohio Supreme Court are selected through partisan primaries and partisan general elections. Previously, these judges were selected through partisan primaries and nonpartisan general elections, known as the Michigan method.[17][18][19]
All judges serve six-year terms, after which they are required to run for re-election if they wish to remain on the court.[19]
Qualifications
To serve on the Ohio Supreme Court, a judge must:
- have at least six years in the practice of law;
- be licensed to practice law in the state for at least one year preceding appointment or commencement of the judge's term;
- a judge of a court of record in any jurisdiction in the U.S.; and
- be under the age of 70.[20]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court is chosen by voters at large, serving a full six-year term in that capacity.[19]
Vacancies
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.[19]
In 2007, Governor Ted Strickland (D) 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.[19] A similar system was established in 1972 under Governor Jack Gilligan (D), but it was abolished by Governor James A. Rhodes (R) three years later.[21]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
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Officeholder Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice |
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Footnotes
- ↑ The Ohio Channel, "Court News: Sharon L. Kennedy Sworn In as 154th Ohio Supreme Court Justice," December 7, 2012
- ↑ WOWK TV, "Newly elected Ohio Supreme Court justice sworn in," archived October 21, 2014
- ↑ Judicial selection in Ohio
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Secretary of State, "Statewide Candidates for the May 6, 2014 Primary Election," archived October 21, 2014
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ Canton Rep, "Candidate profiles: Ohio Supreme Court Justice," accessed December 7, 2022
- ↑ The Supreme Court of Ohio & The Ohio Judicial System, "Justice Sharon L. Kennedy Biography," accessed August 5, 2014
- ↑ Supreme Court of Ohio, "Sharon Kennedy," accessed December 7, 2022
- ↑ Kennedy for Ohio, "About," accessed December 7, 2022
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Official Results: 2012 General Election," accessed July 1, 2021
- ↑ Dayton Daily News, "Senate and Ohio Supreme Court candidates certified," archived January 26, 2012
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Election Results, Court of Common Pleas," November 2, 2010
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Supreme Court of Ohio, "TWISM Ents., L.L.C. v. State Bd. of Registration for Professional Engineers & Surveyors," December 29, 2022
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, “Ohio Candidate Requirement Guide,” accessed December 7, 2021
- ↑ Ohio General Assembly, “(Senate Bill Number 80),” accessed December 7, 2021
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Ohio," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ Ohio Laws & Administrative Rules, "Section 2503.01 | Composition of supreme court; qualifications for justices.," accessed April 12, 2023
- ↑ University of Cincinnati College of Law, "Judicial Selection in Ohio: History, Recent Developments, and an Analysis of Reform Proposals," September 2003
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio
State courts:
Ohio Supreme Court • Ohio District Courts of Appeal • Ohio Courts of Common Pleas • Ohio County Courts • Ohio Municipal Courts • Ohio Court of Claims
State resources:
Courts in Ohio • Ohio judicial elections • Judicial selection in Ohio
