Candidate for
Judge; Supreme Court; 6 Year Term Starting 1/1/01

Judicial Philosophy

I am committed to principled decision-making. Decision-making at the Ohio Supreme Court ought to be a detached, analytical determination as to which side of the dispute is better supported by the relevant body of legal doctrine Judicial opinions, statutes, or the Constitution.) The prescribed goal is to arrive at sound legal precepts, precepts that are neutral and that are independent of the justices' preference for any particular social result. Only if justices consider themselves bound by the law is judicial supremacy legitimate.

I view law and judging as a discipline requiring logic, objectivity, and intellectual honesty.

Courts, as the non-political branch of government, are ill suited to decide the pressing questions of social policy. In our constitutional democracy, it is the legislative and executive branches that are charged with enacting laws to reflect the citizens' moral and social preferences.

As a justice of the court, my role is to decide issues with a goal of justice according to law. And justice in the larger sense, according to social or moral policies, is committed to the General Assembly and the Governor.