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Ohio Supreme Court Justice vacancy (December 2024)
| Ohio Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Deters vacancy |
| Date: December 10, 2024 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Dan Hawkins |
| Date: November 5, 2024 |
Dan Hawkins (R) won in a November 2024 special election to replace Ohio Supreme Court Justice Joseph Deters (R). Deters ran for a full term against incumbent Melody Stewart (D) for her seat, choosing not to run for re-election for his seat. Deters won in his election, which occurred alongside Hawkins'. Deters stepped down from his previous seat on December 10, 2024. Hawkins was sworn in on December 10, 2024, and Deters was sworn into his new seat on January 2, 2024.
In Ohio, state supreme court justices are elected in partisan elections. There are eight states that use this selection method. To read more about the partisan election of judges, click here.
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.[1]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Ohio Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- An overview of the election.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2024.
The appointee
- See also: Dan Hawkins (Ohio)
Dan Hawkins earned a B.S. in criminal justice from Bowling Green State University in 1998 and a J.D. from The Ohio State University in 2001. His career experience includes working in the Franklin County prosecutor's office and then as a judge in the Franklin County Municipal Court before becoming a judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.[2]
Election
Candidates and election results
Deters' seat: unexpired term ending December 31, 2026
General election
Special general election for Ohio Supreme Court
Dan Hawkins defeated Lisa Forbes in the special general election for Ohio Supreme Court on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dan Hawkins (R) | 55.0 | 2,998,592 |
 | Lisa Forbes (D)  | 45.0 | 2,456,462 | |
| Total votes: 5,455,054 | |||
| = 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
Special Democratic primary for Ohio Supreme Court
Lisa Forbes defeated Terri Jamison in the special Democratic primary for Ohio Supreme Court on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lisa Forbes | 63.8 | 310,635 |
 | Terri Jamison | 36.2 | 175,965 | |
| Total votes: 486,600 | |||
| = 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
Special Republican primary for Ohio Supreme Court
Dan Hawkins advanced from the special Republican primary for Ohio Supreme Court on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dan Hawkins | 100.0 | 810,411 |
| Total votes: 810,411 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Ohio
In Ohio, state supreme court justices are elected in partisan elections. There are eight states that use this selection method. To read more about the partisan election of judges, click here.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Ohio Supreme Court
Justices
Following Deters' resignation, the Ohio Supreme Court included the following members:[3]
| ■ Sharon L. Kennedy | Elected in 2012, 2014, 2020, and 2022[4] | |
| ■ Pat Fischer | Elected in 2016, and 2022 | |
| ■ Michael P. Donnelly | Elected in 2018 | |
| ■ Melody Stewart | Elected in 2018 | |
| ■ Pat DeWine | Elected in 2016, and 2022 | |
| ■ Jennifer L. Brunner | Elected in 2020 |
About the court
Founded in 1803, the Ohio Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Sharon Kennedy.
About Justice Deters
- See also: Joseph Deters
Deters served as the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney from 1992 to 1999 and again beginning in 2005. Prior to this, Deters was clerk of courts for Hamilton County.
Deters graduated from St. Xavier High School, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Cincinnati College of Law.[5]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2024
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2024
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2024. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2023.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Ohio," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Dan Hawkins," accessed February 21, 2024
- ↑ Note: Although the November 5, 2024 elections occurred at the time of his resignation, the incoming justices had not been sworn in. This list reflects the justices on the court as of December 10, 2024.
- ↑ Note: In 2022, Kennedy ran and won the election to the chief justice position.
- ↑ Governor of Ohio, "Governor DeWine to Appoint Joseph T. Deters to Ohio Supreme Court," December 22, 2022
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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
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