Pat Fischer
Republican | Ohio
Candidate Profile*
Leans Originalist
*Additional information appears below for educational purposes; however, only data received prior to the candidate deadline was considered during Panel Evaluation.
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Pat Fischer
Party
Republican
Election Year
2022
Election
General
Race
Supreme Court, term beginning January 1
Incumbent
Yes
Links
EDUCATION
Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, JD with honors, 1983
Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, AB with honors, 1980
St. Xavier H.S., Cincinnati, OH, HS, 1976
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Ohio State And Cincinnati Bar Associations, Past President and Board member + others, Ohio Sup. Ct. Commission on Professionalism
Past Vice chair and member, Cincinnati Children's Museum, Past President and Board member + others
Hamilton Cty. Mental Health&Recovery services, Past Committee chair and Board member, Ohio Constitutional Modernization Comm.
Past Commissioner and committee chair, St.Ursula Villa, Past President and Board member + others
Pleasant Ridge Community Council, Past President and Board member + others, Ohio Sup. Ct. Task Force on Commercial Dockets
Past Co-Chair, Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program, Past Trustee (2x)
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Judge, appeals court, 2010-16
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
City council, 2007
Race
Previous Races
ENDORSEMENTS*
*These endorsements were received after the deadline and were not considered in the Panel Evaluations and are for additional educational purposes only.
CONSERVATIVE (9)
*National Rifle Association (NRA) PVF
*Cincinnati Right to Life PAC
Buckeye Firearms Association-Ohio
*Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio
*Clermont County Republican Party
LIBERAL (1)
*ACT Ohio (Affiliated Construction Trades)
OTHER (5)
Ohio Chamber of Commerce PAC
Ohio Manufacturers' Association (OMA- PAC)
Ohio Business Round Table - OBRT
Ohio FOP
Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (8)
Ohio Manufacturers Assoc PAC
Ohio BRT PAC
Ohio Farm Bureau PAC
Buckeye Firearms Association PAC
NFIB (Ohio) PAC
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (5)
Dave Greenspan (2015)
Mike DeWine (2006)
Mitt Romney (2008)
Peter Stautberg (2007)
Steve Chabot (2010)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (0)
OTHER INFORMATION
Notable cases that Justice Fischer has ruled on include:
- Adams et al. v. DeWine (2022): Justice Fischer co-wrote a dissent with Justices DeWine and Kennedy, arguing the majority did not rely on a workable standard in its holding that the Ohio congressional-district plan "unduly" favored a political party and split governmental units (p. 43).
- Stated that the Ohio Constitution should be construed according to its original public meaning (p. 51).
- "We believe that our authority is limited by the text of Article XIX and the constitutional restraints on the judicial power. Because the majority strays well beyond both, we respectfully dissent" (p. 44).
- "No doubt, there are those who will be quite happy about the policy choices that the majority makes today. But no one should lose sight of the fact that what the majority does today is make policy, not apply the law. While none of us question that the majority sincerely believes that what it is crafting constitutes good policy, we have grave concerns about the majority’s untethered-by-law eagerness to wrest from the political branches of our government the authority that rightly belongs to them" (p. 44).
- Gabbard v. Madison Local School District Board of Education (2021): Justice Fischer wrote a dissent in a case over whether a school board resolution could authorize teachers to carry firearms. He argued that R.C. 109.78(D) did not apply in this case due to its plain meaning and the expressio unius est exclusio alterius canon (expression of one or more items of a class implies that those not identified are to be excluded from the class) (p. 34). Argued that non-security school employees were not included in R.C. 109.78(D)'s list and it would be unreasonable to read them to be (p. 35). He stated that it is the legislature's role to make policy and legislative choices (p. 34).
- State v. Graham (2020): Affirmed the conviction of a defendant in an aggravated murder case but vacated his death sentence. The dissent disagreed with the weight that the majority assigned to several mitigating factors (p. 63, 93, 96)
QUESTIONNAIRE
VALUES
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Disagree
CRT is a long discredited legal academic concept.
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality that is necessary for our system of limited government.
Agree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
Roman Catholicism. I attend St.Xavier Parish in Cincinnati where I am a Lector and Eucharistic Minister.
What types of pro bono work have you done?
Cases, trials, filings, legal advising
ABOUT YOU
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
Harvard Law School, clerkship for a federal job, over 25 years of law practice, 6 years as an appellate judge, 6 years as a Supreme Court Justice; I once tried a case to jury verdict that lasted more than 15 weeks. Very few lawyers have had an opportunity like that. Moreover I have been elected by my peers to be president of both the Ohio State Bar Association and Cincinnati Bar Association. Attorneys do not select lawyers that they do not respect for such an honorable position.
Why should the voters choose you?
I am the most qualified candidate by far. I have more experience than my opponent. Please see above.
I voted in these primaries and general elections:
2012 Republican Primary 2012 General Election 2014 Republican Primary 2014 General Election 2016 Republican Primary 2016 General Election 2018 Republican Primary 2018 General Election 2020 Republican Primary 2020 General Election
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
Justices should not interpret the federal and state constitutions as living documents, but should use a textualist and originalist approach to interpretation.
Strongly Agree
What is the proper use of legislative history in interpreting statutory law?
Little value
Which current or past U.S. Supreme Court justice best reflects your judicial philosophy?
Justice Kavanaugh.
iVoterGuide Notes:
The candidate notified iVoterGuide.com that his answer should have been "Justice Gorsuch."
How should a court address the balance between public health and individual freedoms in the time of a pandemic?
Based upon the Constitution and statutes
In light of the case Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include a prohibition on sexual-orientation discrimination, which justice’s opinion most closely aligns with your own opinion?
Unethical to respond. See Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct
What role (if any) does a judge have in maintaining the separation of church and state?
Applying First Amendment as written
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Strongly Agree
As detailed by the US And Ohio Constitutions.
When should a judge overturn past court decisions?
See Galatis case from Ohio Supreme Court. The court should only do so at the most appropriate time.
How should a judge determine which rights are protected by the Constitution even though they are not specifically mentioned?
Unethical to respond. See Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct
What legal principles should a court consider when evaluating parents’ objection to their child obtaining medical procedures or drugs designed to affirm the child’s desired gender?
Unethical to respond. See Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct
What principles should guide a court’s analysis of whether your state’s constitution gives terminally ill patients a right to assisted suicide?
Unethical to respond. See Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct
Would you describe your judicial philosophy as originalist, living constitutionalist, or something else?
Textualist.
