All in the Family

On December 30, I had the pleasure of administering the oath of office to my son, Josh, as he began a six-year term as a Toledo Municipal Court judge. It was a very proud moment for me to hear him report that he would “faithfully and impartially discharge and perform” his duties “so help me God.”

The Lanzinger family attends swearing-in ceremony
for Toledo Municipal Court Judge Joshua W. Lanzinger.

More than 28 years ago, I began my judicial career in the same court. Now, for the first time, a mother and son are serving together on judicial benches in Ohio.

But other duos of parents and children also exist throughout the state.

My colleague, Justice Terrence O’Donnell and his daughter, Colleen, now a common pleas judge, are among them.

What makes a child follow a parent as a judge? A new video featuring Justice O’Donnell’s daughter and my son has been produced for Court News Ohio. It can be viewed at http://www.ohiochannel.org/MediaLibrary/Media.aspx?fileId=141860.