Candidate Details
- Residence
Cleveland - Email
stewartforohiosupremecourt@gmail.com - Website
stewartforohiosupremecourt.com - Social Media
facebook.com/StewartforOhioSupremeCourt
twitter.com/Stewart4OhioSC
instagram.com/StewartforOhioSupremeCourt - Age
62 - Occupation
Ohio Supreme Court Justice - Education
B.M. (Bachelor of Music) – University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.
J.D. (Juris Doctor)(Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow) – Cleveland State University College of Law.
Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)(Mandel Leadership Fellow) – Case Western Reserve University, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
Honorary Doctorate – Cleveland State University.
- Work Experience
- Justice – Supreme Court of Ohio
- Judge – Ohio Court of Appeals (Eighth District)
- Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid – Cleveland State University College of Law.
- Director of Student Services/Director of Academic Enrichment Program – Case Western Reserve University School of Law
- Adjunct Faculty – Ursuline College
- Visiting Assistant Professor of Law – University of Toledo College of Law
- Visiting Assistant Professor of Law – Cleveland State University College of Law
- Assistant Dean for Student Affairs – Cleveland State University College of Law
- Adjunct Faculty – Cleveland State University College of Law
- Assistant Law Director – Cities of Cleveland and East Cleveland
- Family
Yes. - Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- Ohio State Bar Association
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
- Ohio Women's Bar Association
- Norman S. Minor Bar Association
- Endorsements
- U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown
- Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb
- Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne
- Abortion Forward
- Association of Cleveland Firefighters IAFF Local 93
- Cleveland American Middle East Organization (C.A.M.E.O)
- Cincinnati Women’s Political Caucus
- Cleveland Stonewall Democrats
- Communications Workers of America District # 4
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 4th District
- Ohio AFL-CIO
- Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters
- Ohio Assoc. of Public School Employees/Amer. Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
- Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association
- Ohio Citizen Action
- Ohio Education Association
- Ohio Environmental Council
- Ohio Federation of Teachers
- Ohio Fraternal Order of Police
- Ohio Nurses Association
- Ohio Nurses for America
- Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com
- National Association of Social Workers, Ohio Chapter
- National Democratic Redistricting Committee
- Painters & Allied Trades District Council No. 6 State of Ohio and Central Kentucky
- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio
- Teamsters Ohio DRIVE
- UAW Region 2b
- Wood County Young Democrats
- Working Families Party
- Youngstown-Warren Black Caucus
- Bar Association Ratings
Rated "EXCELLENT" by:
Asian American Bar Association
Cuyahoga County Criminal Defense Attorneys
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Norman S. Minor Bar Association
Melody J Stewart
Question 1
List your judicial experience (courts and years)
Justice on the Supreme Court of Ohio – 2019 to present (5+ years).
Judge on the Ohio Court of Appeals – 2006 to 2018 (12 years).
Abbreviated Candidate Answers
Justice on the Supreme Court of Ohio – 2019 to present (5+ years).
Judge on the Ohio Court of Appeals – 2006 to 2018 (12 years).
Question 2
What non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
Prior to being elected and re-elected to the Court of Appeals and then being elected to the Supreme Court – serving 17 years writing law, I had a varied legal career practicing law and teaching law. I practiced law primarily as a civil defense litigator in state and federal courts and worked in several capacities in legal and higher education for a combined 16 years. I served in multiple administrative capacities and taught courses in ethics and professional responsibility; criminal law; criminal procedure; and legal research, writing, and advocacy. In my doctoral studies, I was able to explore the intersection of law and social science – researching and writing in the areas of elder law and caregiving, and juvenile delinquency to name a couple areas of study. This prior non-judicial experience helps me to ask the right questions of lawyers and litigants, colleagues and court staff, and of myself before deciding a case. My non-judicial background has also served me well with recognizing the complexities and nuances of cases that come before us and serves as a reminder to always judge the case, not the parties.
Abbreviated Candidate AnswersPrior to being elected and re-elected to the Court of Appeals and then being elected to the Supreme Court – serving 17 years writing law, I had a varied legal career practicing law and teaching law. I practiced law primarily as a civil defense litigator in state and federal courts and worked in several capacities in legal and higher education for a combined 16 years. I served in multiple administrative capacities and taught courses in ethics and professional responsibility; criminal law; criminal procedure; and legal research, writing, and advocacy. In my doctoral studies, I was able to explore the intersection of law and social science – researching and writing in the areas of elder law and caregiving, and juvenile delinquency to name a couple areas of study. This prior non-judicial experience helps me to ask the right questions of lawyers and litigants, colleagues and court staff, and of myself before deciding a case. My non-judicial background has also served me well with recognizing the complexities and nuances of cases that come before us and serves as a reminder to always judge the case, not the parties.
Question 3
Why are you running for this particular court seat?
I am currently the incumbent Justice running for re-election to the seat that I criss-crossed the State of Ohio campaigning for in 2018, that I received bipartisan support for during that campaign, and that the voters of Ohio saw fit to elect me to in 2018. I am an even stronger Justice/Public Servant now as I complete my first six-year term on the Ohio Supreme Court. So running for re-election to the seat I currently hold is necessary to continue serving the public and our judiciary. I am the most experienced appellate jurist on the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Abbreviated Candidate AnswersI am currently the incumbent Justice running for re-election to the seat that I criss-crossed the State of Ohio campaigning for in 2018, that I received bipartisan support for during that campaign, and that the voters of Ohio saw fit to elect me to in 2018. I am an even stronger Justice/Public Servant now as I complete my first six-year term on the Ohio Supreme Court. So running for re-election to the seat I currently hold is necessary to continue serving the public and our judiciary. I am the most experienced appellate jurist on the Supreme Court of Ohio.