What Do Fair Courts Mean to You?

The Ohio Fair Courts Alliance is excited to unveil our new video “Strong Judiciary” described by former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor as “informative, engaging, and effective in conveying its message.” The video highlights what a strong judicial system SHOULD look like and what it means to truly have fair courts that work for everybody.

To accompany this video, we asked former judges, advocates, and judicial experts to share what fair courts mean to them and what they think we deserve in our judiciary. 

Here's what they shared (click on the links to go to the specific section):

• What We Deserve From Our Judges, Michael Donnelly, former Ohio Supreme Court

• Legal Fairness to Ohio's Black Citizens, Ronald Adrine, retired Cleveland Municipal Court Judge

• Video: We Deserve Judges that Treat Everyone the Same, Billy Corriher, author, state courts manager for the People’s Parity Project

• Why Should We Care About Fair Courts? Debby Cooper, retired public information officer, Ohio State Bar Association

  
  

What We Deserve From Our Judges

Michael Donnelly, former Ohio Supreme Court Justice

“Ohio citizens deserve judges who are patient, fair-minded, and committed to faithfully following the law no matter the political consequences. They deserve judges who respect every person who enters a courtroom, who strive to control their own biases, and who approach every dispute without fear or favor. Above all, they deserve a judiciary that promotes maximum transparency, fairness, and efficiency while remaining insulated from partisan political influence as much as humanly possible. Public confidence that courts are neutral and impartial is essential to preserving the Rule of Law."

Legal Fairness to Ohio's Black Citizens

Ronald Adrine, retired Cleveland Municipal Court Judge

"Immediately after its founding, Ohio expressly denied legal fairness to its Black Citizens. In 1804 and again in 1807, our state passed what became known as the Black Laws. These enactments discriminated against Ohio's Black residents in many ways, in an effort to discourage them from settling or remaining within the state's borders. Most egregious were provisions that prevented Black people from testifying in court in any case where a white person was a litigant. The law effectively prevented Black people from redressing their lawful grievances in the forum provided for everyone else. That law remained in place until 1848. Over the years, other government policy decisions have had disparate effects on the conditions Ohio's Black residents faced. America was founded on the principle that, although imperfect at its inception, the goal was to strive for a more perfect union of the people. Sadly, too frequently African Americans found themselves outside the definition of "the people" in that statement. In the Black community, nothing is more desired or important than feeling equal before the law and the courts. They desire nothing more and nothing less than to present their causes to judicial officers who will hear them without prejudice and render judgment, based solely on the facts and the law devoid of either explicit or implicit bias. Like everyone else who accesses the judicial system, they seek to experience a process that allows them to be respected, understood, and heard. Preserving such forums is required if our justice system is to maintain its legitimacy, not just in the Black Community, but in the community writ large."   

We Deserve Judges that Treat Everyone the Same

Billy Corriher, author, state courts manager for the People’s Parity Project

Why Should We Care About Fair Courts?

Debby Cooper, retired public information manager, Ohio State Bar Association

Through my position as a public information manager for the Ohio State Bar Association, I learned more about how courts operate, and why the judiciary must be independent. Because judges must be able to make decisions based solely on the facts and the law, they must be kept separate from the other branches of government and free from political or outside pressure or retaliation.

But maintaining an independent judiciary requires rigorous oversight and accountability, and that is a job all of us share. It can be easy to ignore judicial candidates at election time, but we can and must do our research and then vote for those judges and justices who we believe are committed to fairness and impartiality.

Fair and independent courts are essential if we truly aim to be a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.”

Conclusion

A strong judicial system is the backbone of a healthy democracy!

We strongly encourage you to talk to your friends and neighbors about fair courts and the upcoming election. We, the voters, have the power to elect judges who reflect our values and care about fair courts. It’s on us to demand better and we can start at the ballot box.

“The [video’s] message encouraging voters to participate in judicial elections this year is strong and is reinforced by emphasizing that Ohio voters are the ones who place judges on the bench,” said former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Maureen O’Connor. “Unlike the federal system, Ohioans have a direct voice in selecting members of the judiciary—from the Ohio Supreme Court and appellate courts to county and municipal court judges.”