Sharon Kennedy
Republican | Ohio
Candidate Profile
Proven Originalist
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Sharon Kennedy
Party
Republican
Election Year
2020
Election
General
Race
Supreme Court Justice - term beginning Jan. 1
Incumbent
Yes
Links
EDUCATION
University of Cincinnati, College of Law, Cincinnati, Juris Doctor, 1991
University of Cincinnati, School of Social Work, Cincinnati, Bachelor Degree of Social Work, 1984
WORK & MILITARY
(Candidate did not provide)
AFFILIATIONS
Butler County Bar Association, Member and Lecturer, Ohio Judicial Conference
Domestic Relations Law & Procedure Committee, Our Lady of Sorrow Catholic Church
Alcohol Drug Addiction Services Board, Little Sisters of the Poor
Contributor, Lakota East Mock Trial, Advisor
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA), Federalist Society
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Justice, Supreme Court of Ohio, 2012-Present
Judge, Common Pleas Court, Butler County, 1999-2012
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
(Candidate did not provide)
Race
Previous Races
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (10)
Buckeye Firearms Association-Ohio
Butler County Republican Party
Cincinnati Right to Life PAC
Clermont County Republican Party
Cleveland Right to Life
LIBERAL (1)
G-PAC
OTHER (12)
Agriculture for Good Government Political Action Committee (AGGPAC)
Cleveland American Middle East Organization C.A.M.E.O.
Delaware County Republican Party
Greene County Republican Party
Hamilton County Republican Party (HC GOP)
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (6)
Affiliated Construction Trades Ohio
Fraternal Order of Police
NFIB Ohio
Ohio Business Roundtable
Ohio Farm Bureau Federation Agriculture for Good G
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (18)
Andrew Brenner (2012)
Bob Peterson (2013)
Dave Yost (2012)
Frank Hoagland (2019)
George Lang (2019)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (75)
Andrew 'Andy' Thompson (2014)
Auto Dealers for Progress (2012)
Barbara Comstock (2019)
Bob Gibbs (2019)
Bob Peterson (2020)
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (0)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (6)
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (2020)
International Union of Operating Engineers (2020)
Laborers International Union of North America (includes national, state & local affiliates) (2020)
Local, County, and District Democratic Organizations (2014)
Peggy Lehner (2019)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Strongly Agree
The Ten Commandments should not be displayed in public school buildings or court houses.
Strongly Disagree
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
As set forth in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 7 of Article I of the Ohio Constitution that the legislature is prohibited from establishing and prohibiting the free exercise of religion. Pursuant to the Ohio Judicial Code of Conduct this response should not be interpreted as taking a position on a current or future issue before the court and as a justice I will carry out my adjudicative duties faithfully and impartially.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
George Washington's comment that “Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society” is still true today.
Strongly Agree
What in the nature of mankind caused America’s Founders to carefully define, separate, and limit powers in the Constitution?
Ambition.James Madison, Federalist Papers 51 ("Because men are no angels.")
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
God's objective existence is connected to us when we enter into a relationship with him through prayer and embracing the Word of God. Through my faith I have come to believe that life and the dignity of every person, regardless of ideological differences is paramount to our society. And in our society we should seek the common good and well-being of all, particularly those who are most vulnerable. And human dignity can only be preserved and protected when government institutions respect and protect our fundamental rights and freedoms.
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges allowing members of the same sex to marry, which justice’s opinion in that case most closely approximates your understanding of marriage?
Antonin Scalia's constitutional analysis
ABOUT YOU
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
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and immigration, which of the following best describes you overall?
Very Conservative
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
KennedyforOhio. com is my campaign website. All of my endorsements and my decisions since joining the Supreme Court of Ohio on December 7, 2012 are on that website.
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
I earned a Bachelor Degree in Social Work and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Cincinnati. In my professional life I have 34 years of diverse service in the justice system. Prior to my term on the Supreme Court of Ohio, I served as a trial court judge in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division from January 1999 through December 6, 2012. Entering the legal profession in 1991, I was a solo practitioner serving the legal needs of families, juveniles, and the less fortunate. During my time in private practice I also served as special counsel for Attorney General, Betty D. Montgomery and part-time civil magistrate and warrant officer for the Butler County Area Courts. I began my career in the justice system enforcing the law and keeping the peace as a police officer in the City of Hamilton. This diverse background makes me uniquely qualified to serve as a justice because of the wide variety of legal issues heard.
In what areas of law have you practiced?
As a solo practitioner I practiced in the legal areas of civil, criminal, juvenile, domestic relations, and probate. My professional experience included trial and appellate work.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No.
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
During my career I have worked to improve the lives of the people I have touched. That service included: serving on community boards like the YWCA and the Alcohol Drug Addiction Services; working with partners like juvenile court to develop programming to address the challenges my juvenile clients faced & Butler County Jobs and Family Services to help people overcome barriers to gainful employment; & now my initiative Lean Forward: Advancing the Treatment of Veterans by providing education & training on how we can develop a seamless system that works to identify veterans earlier in the process to ensure that veterans receive the treatment they need to come wholly home. I also regularly speak to civic organizations & young people in schools & homeschool cooperatives & law students about our tripartite government, the role of separate but coequal branches, the Ohio judicial system, the common misconceptions of the First Amendment, & how to achieve your American Dream.
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
The U.S. Constitution and my state constitution should be interpreted as living documents, rather than using a strict constructionist or originalist approach in judicial decisions.
Strongly Disagree
There are times when American judges should alter U.S. case law in order to comply with foreign case law.
Strongly Disagree
I support the use of Sharia law as a basis for legislation and judicial decisions in the United States.
Strongly Disagree
There should be more than nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Strongly Disagree
Which current U.S. Supreme Court justice best reflects your judicial philosophy?
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas
Which U.S. president serving after 1960 best reflects your political philosophy?
President Ronald Reagan
What is the proper use of legislative history in interpreting statutory law?
Legislative history can only provide the context in which a statute was enacted. Only the text of the statute can be used when interpreting statutory law.
What specific text in the Declaration of Independence provides the critical basis for individual rights and the form of government guaranteed in the United States Constitution?
"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands... & to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate & equal station to which the Laws of Nature & of Nature's God entitle them... requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty & the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, & to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles & organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety & Happiness."
