A noted Ohio University alumna is hoping to keep her position in Ohio’s legal system.
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown, a 1982 Ohio University graduate, announced Monday that she intends to run for re-election to the Supreme Court later this year.
She will run against Butler County Domestic Relations Judge Sharon L. Kennedy, a Republican, according to an article in The Columbus Dispatch.
When former Gov. Ted Strickland appointed McGee Brown in December 2010, she became the Ohio Supreme Court’s first black female justice. She took office Jan. 1, 2011.
“I believe that I have had a real impact, by bringing a life experience and a perspective to the high court that might not otherwise be represented,” McGee Brown said.
McGee Brown is the only one of the seven justices on the Supreme Court who is a Democrat. She obtained her juris doctorate from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1985.
A former OU Trustee, McGee Brown served on the board from June 2009 until she left to become an Ohio Supreme Court justice. Janetta King replaced McGee Brown on the OU Board of Trustees.
“She did an outstanding job as a university trustee,” OU President Roderick McDavis. “She was involved, engaged in meetings, never shy about offering her opinions.”
McDavis said he admired and respected McGee Brown and her work with families and children. She was the founding director of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy in Columbus.
The center, which specializes in child-abuse cases, provides teams of specialists to work with victims, offers prevention services, and enables cooperation between police, prosecutors and advocates to streamline investigations.
“For the thousands of children and families caught up in these crimes, I know we have made a difference,” McGee Brown said.
McGee Brown said she brings an important diversity to the court that not only provides a different perspective but also has affected decisions.
“Whether having to do with worker’s compensation, family law or child welfare, I bring experience and perspective that my judicial colleagues can benefit from,” she said.
In September 2011, McGee Brown visited OU with former Sen. George Voinovich and Ohio House Speaker JoAnn Davidson to speak with students about the importance of experience and integrity in public service.
“I think Ohio University has a good tradition, both among Board of Trustees members and other leaders in the state of Ohio, of placing people in places where they can be successful, and she’s certainly a good example of that,” said C. Robert Kidder, chairman of the OU Board of Trustees.
McGee Brown was elected to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations and Juvenile division, in 1992 and served for 10 years.
In 2010, McGee Brown ran for elected office as Strickland’s running mate, but Republican Gov. John Kasich and his running mate Mary Taylor defeated them.
bv111010@ohiou.edu
