Candidate Details
- Residence
Cleveland - Email
stewartforohiosupremecourt@gmail.com - Website
stewartforohiosupremecourt.com - Social Media
facebook.com/StewartforOhioSupremeCourt
twitter.com/Stewart4OhioSC
instagram.com/StewartforOhioSupremeCourt - Age
61 - 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 Assitant 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
As it is early in the election season and I am unopposed in the primary election, below are some of the endorsements received when I was a candidate for the Supreme Court in 2018.
- Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio.com
- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
- Columbus Dispatch
- Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio
- Heat & Frost Insulators Local 3
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 38
- Laborers Local 500
- Nat. Assoc. of Social Workers - OH
- Ohio AFL CIO
- Ohio Assoc. of Public School Employees
- Ohio Education Association
- Ohio Federation of Teachers
- Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Assoc
- Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com
- Service Employees International Union District 1199
- The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram
- United Auto Workers
- United Food and Commercial Workers Local 75
- United Steelworkers
- Bar Association Ratings
Bar Association ratings received when I was a candidate for the Supreme Court in 2018.
- Highly Recommended - Ohio State Bar Association (Highest rating of all Supreme Court candidates).
- Excellent-Preferred - Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.
- Excellent - Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
- Excellent-Preferred - 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.
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.