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10/4/2012 - West Side Leader
     

By Staff Writer

Terrence O’Donnell (incumbent) vs. Mike Skindell

Terrence O’Donnell

Voters will vote for one candidate for Ohio Supreme Court justice for the term commencing Jan. 1, 2013, on the Nov. 6 General Election ballot. While the races for judge are nonpartisan, each party nominates a candidate, and we have opted to list party affiliation with those candidates. Democratic candidate Mike Skindell did not respond to our request for information by the stated deadline. The information provided below was submitted by Republican candidate and incumbent Terrence O’Donnell, with his response to our question printed as submitted.

Terrence O’Donnell (incumbent)

Political affiliation: Republican

What are the three most important issues facing the court and how would you address them?

“The most important issue is for the court to instill and maintain public confidence in decisions of the Supreme Court of Ohio and all inferior courts. This is accomplished by adhering to the doctrine of separation of powers and thereby recognizing the Legislature as the law making or policy making branch of government, the Executive Department as the enforcement branch, and the Judiciary as the interpretive branch. And, it is enhanced by making common sense decisions based on law, not the whim or caprice of an individual jurist.

“The notion embraces public access to justice, which is a continual challenge, and our court has worked tirelessly to assist pro se litigants and those who face language or other barriers in an effort to open the doors of the courthouse to all.

“Closely tied to the issue of access to justice is the difficult problem of funding for courts in order to afford public the opportunity to redress grievances. Regrettably, courts have closed due to a lack of funding, due principally to difficult economic times. Part of the role of a court of last resort is to oversee all Ohio courts to insure that the citizens of Ohio are able to access the courts as needed.”