Candidate Details
- Residence
Cleveland Heights - Email
mikedonnelly@me.com - Website
donnellyforjustice.com - Social Media
facebook.com/DonnellyforSupremeCourt
twitter.com/Donnelly4Ohio - Age
58 - Occupation
Associate Justice, Ohio Supreme Court - Education
Graduate, Saint Ignatius High School, 1984
B.A. from John Carroll University, 1988
Juis Doctorate, Cleveland State University College of Law, 1991
- Work Experience
Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, 1992--1997
Attorney, Civil Litigation, Davis & Young, Cleveland, Ohio, 1997-1999
Attorney, Civil Litigation, Climaco, Lefkowitz, Peca, Wilcox & Garofoli, Cleveland, Ohio 1999--2004
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge, 2005--2018
Associate Justice, Ohio Supreme Court, 2019 to present
- Family
I am married to Attorney Nancy Howe Donnelly. We have two children, Caroline and Tim. - Affiliations
I served on the board of the Cleveland Baseball Federation, which provides baseball and softball summer programs at no charge to children living in lower-income areas of Cleveland and East Cleveland.
I participated in the development of the Western Reserve Fire Museum, which educates children about fire safety and served as a board member of Chagrin Arts, a nonprofit founded in 2007 that promotes arts programing and is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in all its forms.
- Endorsements
Pipefitters Local 120, Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council
ACTOhio
United Auto Workers Union
Communications Workers of America
Ohio Education Association
Ohio Citizen Action
Ohio AFL-CIO
Laborers’ International Union Local 310
Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters
Cleveland Stonewall Democrats
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio
Abortion Forward
Northshore Federation of Labor
Ohio Nurses Association
CAMEO
Ohio Environmental Council
Sierra Club Ohio
Service Employees International Union District 1199
AFSCME
AAMP Ohio
Carpenters Local 200
Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters
Ohio Association of Public School Employees
American Federation of Teachers
North Shore Federation of Labor AFL-CIO
Working Families Party
Cleveland.com/Plain Dealer
Daily Kos
- Bar Association Ratings
Rated Excellent: Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Rated Excellent: Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
Rated Excellent: Norman S. Minor Bar Association
Rated Excellent: Asian American Bar Association
Highly Recommended: Lake County Bar Association
Question 1
List your judicial experience (courts and years)
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge, 2005--2018
Associate Justice, Ohio Supreme Court, 2019 to present.
Former member and Chair of Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
Former trustee, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Former member/Vice President, Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association
Former member, Ohio Jury Instruction Committee
Former member, Ohio State Board of Bar Examiners
Former member, Ohio Supreme Court Death Penalty Task Force
2021—2022, served as Ohio Supreme Court liaison to the Court’s Task Force on Conviction Integrity and Post-Conviction Review
As a member of the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism I helped establish the highly successful Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program which has received national accolades.
In 2011, I was one of two Ohio judges invited to participate in a two-year program created by the National Judicial College as part of their “Innovative Leadership Skills for Leader- Manager Judges Project,” which is designed to empower future judicial leaders across the United States to improve the way in which the justice system functions.
I serve as a faculty member of the Ohio Judicial College, teaching both attorneys and judges at numerous continuing-legal-education seminars on professionalism and issues related to criminal and civil justice reform and procedural fairness.
Abbreviated Candidate AnswersCuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge, 2005--2018
Ohio Supreme Court, 2019 to present.
During my career I held the following positions:
Member/Chair OSC Commission on Professionalism
Trustee, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Member/VP Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association
Member, Ohio Jury Instruction Committee
Member, Ohio State Board of Bar Examiners
Member, OSC Death Penalty Task Force
OSC's liaison to the Task Force on Conviction Integrity and Post-Conviction Review
I helped establish the nationally acclaimed Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program.
I was one of two Ohio judges invited to participate in the National Judicial College's “Innovative Leadership Skills for Leader- Manager Judges Project,” which iempowers future leaders to improve the functionality of the judicial system.
As a faculty member of the Ohio Judicial College, I teach attorneys and judges at numerous continuing-legal-education seminars on professionalism and issues related to criminal and civil justice reform and procedural fairness.
Question 2
What non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
As an assistant prosecutor and litigator who represented plaintiffs and defendants, I gained extensive real-world experience in the wide variety of cases that come before the Common Pleas Court. Trying serious felonies and negotiating plea agreements provided me with critical insight into what did and didn't work in the criminal justice system that proved invaluable when I was elected to the bench.
My work as a civil litigator taught me that “justice delayed is justice denied” is much more than a cliché, it is a painful truth that harms everyone involved in the civil and criminal judicial system.
People iwho have personal injury claims can find themselves on the brink of financial ruin as they wait years for their case to be tried or settled.
Defendants in criminal cases can spend years in jail awaiting trial while victims while victims and their families wait for justice to be done.
And the costs associated with complex business litigation mount exponentially as litigants endure inordinate delays.
With those factors in mind, I resolved to do everything in my power to expedite cases. I assured litigants I would be available to quickly and efficiently resolve any impasse related to discovery. I provided parties with case management orders that included ruling dates set far enough in advance of the trial date so that neither party would incur potentially unnecessary trial expense while awaiting a ruling from me and I provided every litigant with the highest degree of trial date certainty.
Abbreviated Candidate AnswersAs an assistant prosecutor and litigator who represented plaintiffs and defendants, I gained extensive experience in the wide variety of cases heard in Common Pleas Court. Trying serious felonies and negotiating plea agreements provided me with critical insight into what did and didn't work in the criminal justice system that proved invaluable when I was elected to the bench.
My work as a civil litigator taught me that “justice delayed is justice denied” is not a cliché, it is a painful truth that harms everyone involved in the civil and criminal judicial system.
People iwho have personal injury claims can find themselves on the brink of financial ruin as they wait years for their case to be tried or settled.
Criminal defendants can be incarcerated for long periods pre-trial while victims and their families wait years for justice to be done.
And the costs associated with complex business litigation mount exponentially as litigants endure inordinate delays.
With those factors in mind, I resolved to do everything in my power as a judge to expedite cases. I assured litigants I would be available to quickly and efficiently resolve any impasse related to discovery. I provide parties with case management orders that included ruling dates set far enough in advance of the trial date so that neither party would incur potentially unnecessary trial expense while awaiting a ruling from me and I made it a point to provide every litigant with the highest degree of trial date certainty.
Question 3
Why are you running for this particular court seat?
I ran for the Ohio Supreme Court in 2018 because I wanted to utilize the inherent power and influence of the office to restore the public’s waning trust in the judicial system and to serve as an independent justice whose only allegiance would be to the U.S. and Ohio constitutions and the people who expect and deserve nothing less than equal treatment under the law.
I am running for reelection to build upon all the progress that has been made during the years I have been privileged to serve the people of Ohio, to ensure that my strong, independent voice continues to be heard on a Court that has become increasingly politicized, and to strengthen the Court's status as a independent, co-equal branch of state government empowered by the Constitution to serve as a check on the General Assembly and executive officers.
To combat the belief that the justice system is fundamentally unfair, I’ll continue collaborating with judges, prosecutors, attorneys, elected officials, and community leaders to support the widespread adoption of policies that will:
Promote the use of data to assure equity in sentencing
Combat wrongful convictions
Close Ohio’s justice gap
Eliminate backroom, false, and dark plea agreements
Make all Ohio courts more transparent, equitable, accountable, and efficient
In addition to leading the reform movement during my first term, I profoundly influenced the most meaningful cases to come before the court in decades. My independent votes and opinions, including dissents that highlighted issues of law misconstrued or ignored by my colleagues, played a critical role in:
Defending democracy
Preserving the right to vote on the Reproductive Freedom Amendment
Ending a multi-million-dollar First Energy surcharge
Strengthening labor rights
My allegiance to the Constitution and the people who expect and deserve nothing less than independence and equal justice under law rather than partisan politics or ideology will continue to guide my work.
Abbreviated Candidate AnswersI ran for the Ohio Supreme Court in 2018 because I wanted to utilize the inherent power and influence of the office to restore the public’s waning trust in the judicial system and to serve as an independent justice whose only allegiance would be to the U.S. and Ohio constitutions and the people who expect and deserve nothing less than equal treatment under the law.
I am running for reelection to build upon all the progress that has been made during the years I have been privileged to serve the people of Ohio, to ensure that my strong, independent voice continues to be heard on a Court that has become increasingly politicized, and to strengthen the Court's status as a independent, co-equal branch of state government empowered by the Constitution to serve as a check on the General Assembly and executive officers.
To combat the belief that the justice system is fundamentally unfair, I’ll continue collaborating with judges, prosecutors, attorneys, elected officials, and community leaders to support the adoption of policies that will:
Promote the use of data to assure equity in sentencing
Combat wrongful convictions
Close Ohio’s justice gap
Eliminate backroom, false, and dark plea agreements
Make Ohio's courts more transparent, equitable, accountable, and efficient
Along with leading the reform movement during my first term, I profoundly influenced the most meaningful cases to come before the court in decades. My independent votes and opinions, including dissents that highlighted issues of law misconstrued or ignored by my colleagues, played a critical role in:
Defending democracy
Preserving the right to vote on the Reproductive Freedom Amendment
Ending a multi-million-dollar First Energy surcharge
Strengthening labor rights
My allegiance to the Constitution and the people who expect and deserve nothing less than independence and equal justice under law rather than partisan politics or ideology will continue to guide my work.