Potential exists for GOP primary contest in race for Chief Justice of Ohio Supreme Court

By Chad D. Baus

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Ohio Supreme Court Justice Maureen O'Connor will run next year for chief justice, the state's highest judicial post, and that a potential GOP primary challenge could be in the works if former Attorney General Jim Petro also decides to run.

From the story:

If elected, O'Connor, 57, a Republican, would be the first female chief in the 207-year history of the court. She is the only announced candidate so far.

Current Chief Thomas J. Moyer, 69, must retire when his term expires at the end of 2010 because of his age. Ohio justices cannot seek election after they have turned 70.

O'Connor, who has never denied interest in the post, said she made up her mind after her colleague, Republican Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, decided in recent days not to run.

"The first priority was to see what Justice Stratton was going to do," O'Connor said. "I didn't want a primary. Nobody wants a primary, especially among members of the current court."

The story goes on to say that former Republican state Attorney General Jim Petro says he is also weighing a run for chief justice in 2010. For that reason, the article says, O'Connor is now trying to win support from the Ohio Republican Party central committee and county party chairs. In the next few days, she will send each a letter announcing her interest.

Petro said he is also working party leaders and has been encouraged by some key Republicans to run.

"I lean strongly towards it. I have not made a final decision," Petro said Friday. "Obviously, party support factors a lot in my decision."

While both O'Connor and Petro hope to avoid a Republican primary in early 2010, neither promised to step aside -- assuming Petro runs -- if they do not win the party's backing.

When asked about Petro's interest, O'Conner said "I would have a serious problem putting someone as chief justice who has never been a judge."

The position of Supreme Court Justice is incredibly important, because no matter what laws are passed in the legislature, they mean nothing without courts that uphold the law. During her time on the court, Maureen O'Connor has ruled in favor of gun rights in key cases that upheld the constitutionality of a state law which prohibits local governments from passing gun control laws, and authored the blistering dissent to the Ohio Supreme Court's majority opinion, which found Ohio's then-ban on concealed carry to be constitutional.

Jim Petro was the first Attorney General to oversee implementation of Ohio's concealed carry law. He defended the constitutionality of the law in court challenges, and issued several opinions that were supportive of gun rights. Unfortunately, the only blemish on his otherwise strong support for gun owners came on an extremely emotional issue for gun owners.

When it was first passed in 2004, Ohio's concealed carry law contained a media access loophole, inserted by Governor Taft as an 11th hour poison pill. Petro upset gun owners by repeatedly argued in favor not-only of giving the media access to this private information, but the public at large. At the time, legislators in Ohio were warned that newspapers would abuse the law and publish entire lists of CHL-holders. They were also warned that such lists could then be exploited by criminals wishing to steal firearms, and that instances of criminals targeting particular locations they know to contain specific valuables (such as firearms), and staking out or casing residences to make sure no one is home, are common and well documented. Petro called such scenario "a stretch", yet in the following year we documented two instances in Ohio where a robber and rapist used newspaper ads to lure their victims into a trap.

No Democrat has yet expressed interest in running for this seat, so it is too early to predict whether gun owners would support Petro in a general election contest. But if given a choice between Maureen O'Connor and Jim Petro, there is no doubt that more than a few gun owners will remember Mr. Petro's support for revealing their private, personal information.

Chad Baus is a Member of the Fulton County, OH Republican Central Committee and the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.