Paulding County was receptive to sitting Ohio Supreme Court Justice Sharon L. Kennedy on Tuesday, September 29 as she came into the Village of Paulding to meet with several members of the Paulding County Republican Party at the Paulding Pancake House.
Justice Sharon Kennedy stepped outside of the Pancake House to discuss the current situation and her campaign for reelection as a Justice on the Ohio Supreme Court. Justice Kennedy is the incumbent running against John P. O’Donnell, judge of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.
December 7, 2012 Kennedy was sworn in to take over an unfinished vacancy. Supreme Court candidates do not choose a party in which to run, and must be independent. However, a party may endorse a candidate. In this case, Kennedy has been endorsed by the PC Republican Party.
When asked what her toughest trials have been, she did not hesitate to respond, “Death penalty cases.” It is literally a case of life and death, and you are holding someone’s life in your hands. This is about applying the law and not about personal feelings. Kennedy stated that she prides herself on being a constitutionalist, to uphold the law in the eyes of the founders. It’s not about making laws from the bench, but rather having the three unique branches of government that each must do their part in a representative system.
Sharon Kennedy started her career in law enforcement in the city of Hamilton in Butler County. Having to respond to people in emotional states, she realized she had to be the one to help people in crisis situations. She has very much helped them by using the law, even if she didn’t agree with them at the trial court level. As an attorney, it allowed her to use the law rather than her emotions to protect and work with clients. She tells her students that the judges wear black robes to insulate themselves from the law to make the best decisions possible.
Justice Kennedy travels around the state, giving civic speeches, and one of her favorite times was actually at Wayne Trace High School where she gave the How to Live Your American Dream speech in 2019.
When asked what she thought of the Amy Coney Barrett, Supreme Court Nominee, she stated that Barrett truly was living the life that deceased Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg fought for in her Supreme Court legacy. The idea that wives and mother can be a Justice is now a possibility due to Ginsberg’s work. Her body of work was about women’s equality under law. Kennedy stated that her legal alignment is more in line with Justice Antonin Scalia, but does not dismiss the Ginsberg arguments for women’s equality.
Kennedy has been working for advancing the treatment of Veterans in Ohio. “Ohio has the sixth largest population of veterans in the United States, and as they come into the criminal justice system it’s about finding them and connecting them with professionals.” She is an advocate to detect the invisible wounds of war and offer treatments in mental health and substance abuse that sometimes accompanies veterans.
Justice Kennedy is on the Ohio ballot under the section “For Justice of the Supreme Court”.
We appreciate the opportunity to meet the state candidates, such as Sharon L Kennedy, and that she made a point to visit Paulding County.
