Огайо Жоғарғы Соты

Highest court in the U. S. state of Ohio

The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U. S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, who are elected at large by the voters of Ohio for six year terms. The court has a total of 1,550 other employees. Since 2004, the court has met in the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center (formerly known as the Ohio Departments Building) on the east bank of the Scioto River in Downtown Columbus. Prior to 2004, the court met in the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower and earlier in the Judiciary Annex (now the Senate Building) of the Ohio Statehouse. The Ohio Supreme Court and the rest of the judiciary is established and authorized within Article IV of the Ohio Constitution.

The Supreme Court of Ohio was founded in 1802, established in the state constitution as a three member court, holding courts in each county every year. The constitution was approved that year, one year before statehood. In 1823, the state legislature ordered the court to meet annually in Columbus. It was located in the Ohio Statehouse beginning in 1857, and moved into the Statehouse Annex in 1901. The first female justice on the court was Florence E. Allen who served from 1923 to 1934. In 1974, the court moved from the annex building to the Rhodes State Office Tower. It moved to the Ohio Judicial Center in 2004.

In DeRolph v. State (1997) the Supreme Court of Ohio found that Ohio's method of funding its schools was unconstitutional. The case originated in the Perry County Schools. In Mapp v. Ohio (1961), the U. S. Supreme Court reversed the Supreme Court of Ohio, and found that evidence seized unlawfully without a search warrant cannot be used in criminal prosecutions.

All the seats on the court are elected at large by the voters of Ohio. Every two years, two of the associate justice seats are up for election to a six year term. For one of those three elections in a six year cycle, the chief justice's seat is also up for election. In order to run for a seat on the court, a person must be admitted to the bar in Ohio, and have practiced as a lawyer or served as a judge for at least six years. There is an age limit: One may not run for a seat on any Ohio court if one is more than 70 years of age. This limit often forces the retirement of long time justices. Justice Francis E. Sweeney, Sr., was barred by this rule from running for re election in 2004, as was Justice Terrence O'Donnell in 2018 and as Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor was in 2022. However, a judge who reaches the age of 70 after being elected is not prevented from completing her or his term in office. The Governor of Ohio may appoint a Justice to the Court when there is a vacancy. Until June 2021, judicial elections were non partisan. This meant that parties nominated candidates in primary elections, but party designations for the candidates were not permitted on the general election ballot. Candidates and judges are also restricted in making public political statements. In response to the 2020 election of Democrat Jennifer Brunner, Ohio Republicans passed a law making general elections partisan, one of seven states to elect justices with party labels on the ballot. The Ohio Judicial Conference and Ohio Courts of Appeals Judges opposed the change, saying the judiciary should be independent of parties.

The Ohio Supreme Court Disciplinary Counsel investigates Ohio judges and attorneys in order to protect the public. The Ohio Supreme Court announced through its website the dismissal of the former Disciplinary Counsel on August 29, 2013. Currently, Joseph Caligiuri is the Disciplinary Counsel and his office investigates grievances.