Judge John P. O'Donnell, 2016 Democratic candidate for Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, will be the keynote speaker for the Hardin County Democrats Presidents' Day Luncheon Saturday, Feb. 28, at noon at the Walnut Grove First United Methodist Church north of Kenton on State Route 68.
Judge O'Donnell was first elected to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in 2002. He was reelected in 2006 and 2012. The Cuyahoga County Court is one of Ohio's busiest courts. He has presided over scores of jury trials in felony criminal cases and civil lawsuits.
From 2007-2010 Judge O'Donnell was appointed to handle a felony mental health docket consisting of cases where criminal defendants were diagnosed with a serious mental illness with a psychotic component.
These cases often involved complex pre-trial issues about competence to stand trial and insanity. When mentally ill defendants were convicted, Judge O'Donnell was responsible for imposing a sentence that appropriately balanced the protection of the public and the treatment of the defendant's illness.
In 2008 Judge O'Donnell was selected by the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court to be one of only eight trial court judges in the state to preside over a commercial docket devoted strictly to business litigation.
The docket was designed as a means of assuring commercial litigants that their cases would be handled consistently and predictably by a judge with expertise in issues peculiar to business-to-business lawsuits. Since then he has been responsible for over 2,400 commercial cases while still handling all other varieties of civil lawsuits and a felony criminal docket.
Judge O'Donnell is the author of over one hundred judicial opinions, a rarity for a trial court judge, and has been a frequent presenter at continuing legal education programs. He has consistently been rated as “Excellent” in rankings decided by local bar associations whose members are the people most familiar with his work and whose clients are affected by his decisions. The Ohio State Bar Association ranked him in 2014 as “Highly Recommended” for The Ohio Supreme Court.
Judge O'Donnell grew up in Euclid and attended St. Joseph High School in Cleveland. He earned his bachelor's degree at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He worked to put himself through Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Upon earning his law degree and passing the bar, he worked as a civil trial attorney until he was elected to the bench.
Judge O' Donnell has served on the boards of several northeast Ohio non-profit organizations, including the St. Malachi Center, the Cleveland Law Library Association, the Cuyahoga County Law Library Resource Board and Lakewood City Academy. John and his wife Tessa are the parents of five children and live in Lakewood, Ohio.
The Hardin County Democrat Central and Executive Committees unanimously endorsed Judge O'Donnell for Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court at their meeting on Wednesday evening.
Chair Traxler had heard him speak at the Ohio Democrat County Chairs Association meeting in Columbus in January and was impressed with his sincerity and desire to be elected to this office in 2016.
“I am proud that the Committees approved my recommendation to endorse Judge O'Donnell,” said Traxler.
“Judge O'Donnell was limited in the number of counties he could visit in the 2014 campaign due to his current position. He will have almost two years to continue his journey around Ohio so people can get to know him as a person and understand how outstanding he will be on the Ohio Supreme Court. He is a people-person, knows and understands how the courts in Ohio work and will listen to all sides prior to making the decisions he will be making on the highest court in Ohio. I urge all Hardin County and area residents to come to the luncheon and listen to Judge O'Donnell,” Traxler continued.
“Those attending will have the opportunity to ask him questions, but he not address specific issues as that is not permitted in judicial campaigns. How he will approach the decision-making process is certainly the important thing.”
Persons desiring to hear Judge O'Donnell can obtain tickets to this event by contacting Chair Don Traxler cell phone 419-234-8506 or email [email protected]. Reservations must be made by Saturday, Feb. 21. The traditional Donkey Auction will be held and you are invited to bring a gift.
