|
|
Elections |
Article published Sunday, November 3, 2002
State voters could tip high court
philosophy
By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE
COLUMBUS BUREAU
COLUMBUS - Democrats have portrayed this year’s
two Ohio Supreme Court races as a battle of big corporations versus
working families. Republicans have presented the election as a
virtual referendum on Ohio’s economic health.
At stake is the
4-3 philosophical majority on the court that has struck down
legislative attempts to limit jury awards in medical malpractice and
other lawsuits and declared the state’s system of funding public
education unconstitutional.
One seat on both sides of that
divide will be on the ballot on Nov. 5.
Justice Evelyn
Stratton, a 49-year-old conservative Republican from suburban
Columbus, is usually among the minority. A former Franklin County
Common Pleas Court judge, she’s locked in a tight race for a second
six-year term with Democrat Janet Burnside, 55, a Cuyahoga County
Common Pleas Court judge and former Cleveland Heights municipal
judge.
Justice Andy Douglas, the 70-year-old Toledo
Republican who usually sides with the majority, is barred from
seeking another term because of his age.
Tim Black, 49, in
his ninth year on Hamilton County Municipal Court, is vying for the
Douglas seat with Republican Lt. Gov. Maureen O’Connor, 51, a former
Summit County Common Pleas Court judge, probate magistrate, and
prosecutor.
Although candidates are supposed to refrain from
pledging how they would vote on certain issues, their rhetoric has
often made their leanings clear. Justice Stratton has a record of
dissenting in majority decisions striking down tort reform and
expanding insurance coverage in automobile accident
cases.
"I’ve never pledged to be for tort reform," she said.
"Other people have put that label on me. My opponent has never
pledged to be for workers. That’s a label that’s been put on her.
That’s the danger we get into when we get away from that very good
rule that we be fair and impartial."
Judge Burnside has been
careful in answering questions.
"I refuse to give my views
because I think it is unrealistic to think I’m going to be able to
say on one hand my position on the death penalty and then have a
voter or member of the community think that I won’t use that
personal stand on the death penalty when I work on those kinds of
cases," she said.
But she raised eyebrows when she used her
first TV commercial to declare that businesses and corporations are
trying to control the court.
Ms. O’Connor insists she would
impartially apply the law, but she’s been critical of past court
decisions on issues like tort reform.
"Obviously the
plaintiff’s trial bar, trial lawyers, are extremely concerned about
tort reform," she said. "They view this, if it’s passed, as a lock
and key being put on their pockets. Their object is to keep those
deep pockets open and reach in as frequently and deeply as they
can."
Judge Black was criticized when he declared the Douglas
seat to be "labor’s seat." He later said he’d gotten caught up in
the moment.
"The court is split 4-3 on a number of the most
significant decisions," he said. "The seat I’m running for I see as
the seventh vote, not the fourth vote ... I think the court needs to
do a better job of trying to reach consensus, if it can."
| More articles on this subject » |
|
|
| |
|
