Judith French
Republican | Ohio
Candidate Profile
Originalist
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Judith French
Party
Republican
Election Year
2020
Election
General
Race
Supreme Court Justice - term beginning Jan. 2
Incumbent
Yes
Links
EDUCATION
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, JD, 1988
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, MA, 1988
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, BA, 1984
WORK & MILITARY
(Candidate did not provide)
AFFILIATIONS
Franklin County Children Services, College Bound Mentor, Ohio Access to Justice Foundation
Court Liaison, Ohio State/Moritz College of Law, National Council Member
Amethyst (Women's Recovery Organization), Board Member, Columbus City Schools
Tutor/Mentor, First Community Church, Member
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Justice, Ohio Supreme Court, 2013-present
Judge, Franklin County Court of Appeals, 2004-2012
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
(Candidate did not provide)
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
CONSERVATIVE (9)
Buckeye Firearms Association-Ohio
Butler County Republican Party
Cincinnati Right to Life PAC
Clermont County Republican Party
Franklin County Republican Party
OTHER (11)
Agriculture for Good Government Political Action Committee (AGGPAC)
Delaware County Republican Party
Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio
Greene County Republican Party
Hamilton County Republican Party (HC GOP)
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (6)
Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio
Ohio Republican Party
Ohio Chamber of Commerce
Buckeye Firearms Association
Cincinnati Right to Life
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (8)
Bob Peterson (2019)
Dave Yost (2012)
John Sidney McCain (2008)
Local, County, and District Republican Organizations (2020)
Republican Women's Organizations (2013)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (62)
Andrew Brenner (2019)
Barbara Sears (2014)
Bill Beagle (2020)
Bob Gibbs (2019)
Bob Peterson (2020)
LIBERAL
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (0)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (8)
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (2020)
International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (2020)
International Union of Operating Engineers (2020)
Local, County, and District Democratic Organizations (2016)
North America's Building Trade Unions (2020)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
No Answer
The Ten Commandments should not be displayed in public school buildings or court houses.
No Answer
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
Did not answer
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
No Answer
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?
Did not answer
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
Did not answer
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?
Did not answer
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?
Conservative
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
Did not answer
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
I have served the public as a justice on the Ohio Supreme Court since January 2013. In that time, I have cast votes on thousands of cases. And prior to that, I served for eight years as a judge on the Tenth District Court of Appeals, where I authored more than 800 legal opinions. With more than 15 years of judicial experience, I have a record of careful and efficient decision making. My goal is always to apply the law as written.
In what areas of law have you practiced?
I practiced environmental law in a law firm, a corporation, and a state agency. I was an assistant attorney general, when I represented the State of Ohio before the United States Supreme Court. And I was chief legal counsel to the governor of Ohio.
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?
Did not answer
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.
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.
No Answer
Which current U.S. Supreme Court justice best reflects your judicial philosophy?
Alito
Which U.S. president serving after 1960 best reflects your political philosophy?
Reagan
What is the proper use of legislative history in interpreting statutory law?
When presented with legislation, my job as a judge is to read and apply the law as written. If the words of a statute are ambiguous, then I may look to the evolution of that legislation to help interpret it. But there is no value in considering, for example, the statements of individual legislators or testimony of sponsors, because the actual language of the law may not reflect those individual views. The best interpretation of a statute comes from the words of the statute itself.
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?
Did not answer
