Meet the candidates: Megan Shanahan and Michael Donnelly for Ohio Supreme Court
Incumbent Michael Donnelly is hoping to get reelected to another term on the Ohio Supreme Court, but a Republican trial court judge from Hamilton County is challenging him in this fall’s general election.
On Nov. 5, Donnelly and challenger Megan Shanahan hope to win over enough votes to secure a six-year term seat on the Ohio Supreme Court.
It’s one of three high-stakes races in the Ohio Supreme Court, including two current Supreme Court Justices vying for the same six-year term: Justices Melody Stewart and Joe Deters.
Currently, there are more Republican party-affiliated Justices currently sitting on the Ohio Supreme Court than Democratic.
If Democrats win all three races, the Ohio Supreme Court would flip to a majority Democratic court.
“If Republicans win all three races, it would become a 6-1 Republican court,” according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
Here’s what to know about the candidates.
Michael Donnelly
Donnelly attended John Carroll University and the Cleveland State University College of Law.
Before being elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2018, he was a judge in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court starting in the early 2000s.
From 2021 to 2022, he served as Ohio Supreme Court liaison to the Court’s Task Force on conviction integrity and post-conviction review.
“I am proud of the fact that I began to impact the Court and judicial system soon after I was sworn in, I began by asking then-Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor to form a task force to address the problem of wrongful convictions which I believe is both the worst possible form of injustice and one of the primary reasons people are losing faith in the judicial system,” he said.
Donnelly is passionate about strengthening union rights and closing the gaps in judicial processes, like investigating wrongful convictions, illegal plea agreements and lack of resources.
“I believe that when implemented our recommendations will significantly reduce the chance that innocent people will be convicted of and imprisoned for crimes they did not commit,” Donnelly said.
For his next term, Donnelly wants to focus on policies and programs that “provide all citizens with the opportunity to access and utilize the courts to resolve disputes.”
“Because the Supreme Court has the power to set policy at every level of judiciary, I have and will continue to collaborate with judges, prosecutors, attorneys, elected officials, organized labor, and community leaders to formulate and garner support for reforms that will bring increased levels of transparency, accountability, equity, and efficiency to all Ohio’s courts,” Donnelly said.
Donnelly said to date, he has written more than 170 opinions on the Ohio Supreme Court, which he believes “profoundly influenced the most meaningful cases to come before the court in decades.”
“My independent votes and opinions, including numerous dissents that highlighted issues of law misconstrued or ignored by my colleagues, played a critical role in defending democracy and preserving Ohioans’ right to vote on the Reproductive Freedom Amendment,” Donnelly said.
Megan Shanahan
Shanahan attended Kent State University and the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
She is a judge in Hamilton County and former prosecutor with over 20 years of legal and judicial experience.
“I have developed the necessary understanding of Ohio law, the Ohio Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution,” she said. “I know that judges shouldn’t legislate from the bench, and my tenure as a judge proves that. I consider only the facts of the cases before me and a plain reading of the law, without inserting my own personal feelings or political preferences into my rulings. I’ll continue to uphold this standard as an Ohio Supreme Court Justice.”
Shanahan said as a member of the Ohio Supreme Court, her top priorities would include bolstering safer communities and better business practices in the wide variety of cases that impact the livelihoods of every Ohioan.
“We must have a conservative court which abides by judicial restraint, applies the law fairly and justly as written, and provides consistency in its rulings so Ohio’s citizens and businesses may remain confident in the integrity and independence of the judiciary,” Shanahan said. “I am the best candidate for this job.”
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