Governor has power to appoint vacancy

Recently, one of my colleagues, Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, announced that she will retire at the end of this year. My colleagues and I wish her well as she moves on to devote her efforts full-time to advocating on behalf of veterans and mental health issues.

So who will take her spot? Do you know what happens when there’s a vacancy on a court in Ohio?

According to Article IV, Section 13 of the Ohio Constitution, the governor has sole authority to fill all judicial vacancies in the state.

Whoever is appointed to replace Justice Stratton will serve out the remaining two years of the term Justice Stratton was elected to in 2008. The new justice will need to run in the November 2014 general election if he or she wants to serve a full six-year term.

All judicial vacancies are handled the same no matter the court. So the process to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court is the same for filling a vacancy on any other court in the state.