Women in the Ohio Judiciary

As of the 2020 election:

• Out of the 32 Court of Common Pleas judges in Cuyahoga County, 16 (50%) are women.
• Out of the 67 Ohio District Court of Appeals judges, 30 (45%) are women.
• Out of the 7 Ohio Supreme Court justices, 4 are women.
• Out of the 162 Ohio Supreme Court justices elected since statehood, 13 (8%) have been women.

In 2002, Ohio became the third state in the nation to have a female majority (4 of 7) on its state high court. In fact, since 1998, at least three of the seven state supreme court justices have been women, and women have had the majority in nine of the last ten annual terms.

Florence Allen: Trail-Blazer in Ohio and the Nation

Women Who Have Served on the Ohio Supreme Court

History by the Numbers

Women Running for Ohio Supreme Court, 1922 - 2020 (download Excel file)
This file includes data on female candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court from 1922 (the first year women were elected to the high court) to 2020. Justices run for election every six years. Election of the seven members is staggered, so all of the justices are not up for reelection at the same time.

Things to know about Ohio's Judiciary

All judges serve for 6-year terms, with mandatory retirement at age 70. Judges are allowed to finish the term during which they turn 70.

Ohio elects its judges using a method not used in any other state. Judicial candidates first run in a partisan primary, usually in the spring. The winners of these primaries then run in a non-partisan general election in the fall, with no party label after their name. 

If Ohio Supreme Court justices leave before their terms expire, the governor appoints replacements to fill the unexpired term. 

More information on the structure of Ohio’s courts