Ohio Supreme Court race 2024: Who is Judge Lisa Forbes?

Trust in the judicial branch is sliding as voters see a more partisan system but 8th District Court of Appeals Judge Lisa Forbes is convinced that trend can be turned around through hard work, case by case.

Forbes, a Cleveland area Democrat running for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court this fall, said she is willing to do her homework, is committed to the rule of law and doesn't write personal opinions into her rulings.

"I believe firmly that the supreme court is the last line of defense for our rights and liberties and that it should as a firewall to protect our democracy," Forbes said. "And I am committed to accomplishing that goal."

More: Ohio Supreme Court election has 6 candidates running for 3 seats

She added that checks and balances are needed to protect democracy. "We need a court that is fair, independent and balanced, and I can bring that to the court."

Forbes won a Democratic primary race earlier this year and goes up against Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Dan Hawkins, a Republican, this fall. The two jurists are vying for a seat on the supreme court left open by Justice Joe Deters' decision to run against his colleague, Justice Melody Stewart.

Ohio Supreme Court race 2024: Who is Judge Dan Hawkins?

The winner of the Forbes-Hawkins race will serve two years and then run again in 2026.

Who is Judge Lisa Forbes?

After earning a degree at Cornell University, Forbes moved to Washington, D.C., to launch a career in politics and policy. She knocked on congressional office doors until she landed a gig: an unpaid internship. She parlayed that into a paid job and later moved to campaign work.

Forbes left D.C. and politics to earn a law degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where she was born.

"I definitely wanted to go back to Washington but fell in love with Cleveland and stayed and been happy ever since," Forbes said.

After clerking for a U.S. District Court judge, Forbes entered the world of civil litigation, working for two large law firms for 27 years.

Then Forbes took a leap. Instead of riding it out to retirement as a partner at Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease, she ran for a seat on the 8th District Court of Appeals in 2020 and won.

After more than three years on the bench, Forbes notes that she hasn't been overturned by the Ohio Supreme Court.

Forbes' dissents

When asked what kind of jurist she is, Forbes pointed to two dissents she wrote in cases before the 8th District Court of Appeals. She didn't win the argument in either case, but she made her points know.

In a labor dispute over whether an employee should have his case go to arbitration or the State Employee Relations Board, Forbes dissented with her colleagues and said it should go to arbitration.

Later, two different labor law attorneys thanked her for writing the dissent, saying it helped clear up a muddy area of the law, she said.

"I think it's an example of how I am willing to do my homework and to do the hard work and I'm also undeterred," she said. "I will stand by my principles and stick to my guns if I disagree with my colleagues."

In a question of constitutional rights for incarcerated people, Forbes disagreed with her colleagues. The Reagan Tokes Act allows the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to add extra time to an inmate's term in prison if they misbehave.

Forbes said the law lacks due process for inmates because there's no mechanism for them to challenge the basis DRC's decision. She wrote an opinion saying the law is unconstitutional.

Ultimately, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled on another challenge to the law that it is constitutional. Despite this, Forbes said her dissent helped frame the question over when inmates can expect to be released from prison.

"I think demonstrates, once again, I am beholden to the law and I will follow the law wherever it takes me, regardless of how many people agree or disagree with me," Forbes said.

'Legislating from the bench'

In Ohio Supreme Court races, Republicans often accuse Democrats of being "activist" judges who like to "legislate from the bench."

Forbes and her opponent, Judge Dan Hawkins, say they apply the law as written and don't seek a particular, pre-determined outcome in cases − something often described as legislating from the bench.

Forbes said there are probably some "very narrow circumstances" in which judges define words or provide legal relief that isn't in the law. "But fundamentally, when you're changing the law, to do something that wasn't there, creates uncertainty and that, I think, is a bad thing."

The Ohio Supreme Court's 4-3 decision issued in July over boneless chicken wings is an example of legislating from the bench, she said. Republicans on the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that bones are a natural part of chicken so a consumer should be on guard for them − even in boneless wings.

Forbes noted that she hasn't read all the documents in the case but said "I do think that saying boneless is a cooking style is written by somebody who doesn't cook, number one, and number two, was seeking to achieve an outcome rather than analyzing the law and applying the facts."

Abortion cases

Abortion cases are more likely to find their way to the Ohio Supreme Court now that the Dobbs ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court said abortion restrictions are up to states to decide. Likewise, Ohio voters in 2023 approved a constitutional amendment covering reproductive rights. So, any legal questions regarding how that amendment should be interpreted and applied will likely be decided by the Ohio Supreme Court.

The Democrats running for the supreme court are endorsed by Planned Parenthood while the Republicans are backed by Ohio Right to Life.

All six candidates said they pledge to follow the constitution and law.

Criminal sentencing data

The Ohio Sentencing Commission scrapped a contract it held with University of Cincinnati that aimed to get judges to use the same form for writing their criminal sentencing decisions. Ultimately, the goal was to create a database of criminal sentencing decisions so that the courts and researchers could identify trends, biases and areas for improvement.

Some judges didn't like the idea of a searchable database and raised questions about how the data would be used.

The commission, which is chaired by Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, is now deciding its next steps.

Forbes said she supports creating a criminal sentencing database. "This is about fundamental fairness. Like crimes should receive like punishment. The sentence a defendant receives should be based on the individual's conduct, not the courtroom to which his or her case is assigned," she said.

Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Election 2024: Who is Judge Lisa Forbes?