Ohio Citizen Home ORGANIZATION     ISSUES     MONEY/POLITICS     NEWS     INDEX
    

Report details contributions to the Ohio Supreme Court

   

For release:
February 7, 2000

For more information:
Laura Yeomans (330) 343-9588
Catherine Turcer (614) 263-4111

A new report reveals total contributions to each member of the Ohio Supreme Court from 1993 through 1998. Justices received $4.1 million in campaign contributions from lawyers, insurance companies, real estate developers, manufacturers, labor unions and other contributors.

"Funding to Supreme Court justices comes from a variety of sources," said Laura Yeomans, Ohio Citizen Action research director. "Lawyers and lobbyists contributed the most over the past six years, including both attorneys representing victims and employees and those representing insurance, real estate or manufacturing interests. The Finance, Real Estate and Insurance sector was the second biggest contributor."

Current Ohio Supreme Court members received contributions from every sector of Ohio's economy, including the following: Lawyers and lobbyists, $2,145,661; Finance, real estate and insurance, $443,186; Manufacturing and miscellaneous business, $243,515; Labor, $200,325; Education, government, retired, $91,815.

The top ten organizational contributors to the justices included the following:

  1. Ohio Republican Party $213,151
  2. Ohio Democratic Party, $124,455
  3. Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, $85,000
  4. Nuremberg, Plevin, Heller & McCarthy, $84,250
  5. Murray & Murray Co. LPA, $71,850
  6. Spangenberg, Shibley, Traci & Lancione, $70,500
  7. Clark, Perdue, Roberts & Scott Co. LPA, $62,450
  8. Crawford Fitting Co, $52,750
  9. Ohio Education Association, $50,305
  10. Scanlon & Gearinger, $48,880

(These totals include political action committee, employee and other contributions by organization.)

Top individual contributors included --

  1. Fred Lennon of Solon, Crawford Fitting Co., $51,000 (deceased)
  2. Carl Lindner of Cincinnati, American Financial, $21,000
  3. Robert Linton of Akron, Roderick, Myers & Linton, $13,766
  4. Laurie Weinberger of Solon, Personal Profiles of Cleveland, $11,000
  5. John McConnell of Columbus, Worthington Industries Inc.,$10,250

"To wage a successful election campaign, justices currently need a great deal of money for media and literature purchases," Yeomans said. "Ohio Citizen Action recommends evaluating increasing tax credits for small donations, creating Voter Guides of candidates and their positions from the Ohio Secretary of State that could be placed on the Internet and be delivered to homes, increasing free television coverage of candidate centered issue discussions and debates, and partial public financing of campaigns."

The report contains a financial profile for each justice. Citizens who would like a copy of the profiles should send a self-addressed, .55 cent stamped self-addressed envelope to Ohio Citizen Action, P.O. Box 8, Dover, Ohio 44622.

The report, funded by the Joyce Foundation, George Gund Foundation, and the Piper Fund, was conducted by the Citizens Policy Center, the non-profit research affiliate of Ohio Citizen Action.

Ohio Citizen Action campaigns on issues from public health and the environment to utility and insurance rates.

###