COLUMBUS — Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judith French is the only justice to have argued before the court on which she now sits.

She’s also the only one to have argued before the U.S. Supreme Court — and to win.

“I was an appellate lawyer…,” Justice French said. “This is who I am. It’s what I do, and I think I’ve demonstrated an ability to advocate at that level.”

Justice French, “Judge Judi” in her political ads, was appointed to finish Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton’s term by Republican Gov. John Kasich and is now seeking her first full six-year term on Nov. 4.

She faces Democratic opposition from Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John O’Donnell, although neither candidate appears on the ballot with a partisan label.

Then with the Ohio attorney general’s office, she successfully argued the landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2002 that upheld the constitutionality of using tax dollars to pay for tuition of students to attend private and religious schools.

She argues that the state Supreme Court needs predictability — a “conservative” predictability.

“I think I’m kind of an open book,” said Justice French, 52. “At that time [of the appointment], I had eight years being on the [Columbus-based 10th District] Court of Appeals, and I had 800 written decisions. It’s pretty easy to look at those and say we think we know where she’s going to be.”

She argues that it’s critical to keep the court — currently 6-1 Republican — in “conservative” hands, but she stresses she doesn’t use that as a partisan term.

“If you’re a conservative judge, you conserve your resources, you conserve your power, and say that my powers are limited and are defined by the Constitution,” Justice French said. “A liberal judge uses the powers of the court more liberally.

“I see the court’s role as resolving controversies, not taking on policy questions, not second-guessing policy decisions by the Ohio legislature or by the governor,” she said.

Her opponent, however, noted that she owes her judicial career to a pair of political appointments by Republican governors.

“Her legal career is all entirely in the executive branch,” Judge O’Donnell said. “Her jobs as a judge are all from patrons in the executive branch. I don’t claim that that disqualifies her from independently judging the conduct of the executive branch. I do suggest, though, that there is some importance to where you come from.”

Justice French points to the highest-profile opinion of her brief tenure as an example of her conservative philosophy.

The 5-2 ruling earlier this year held that two Democratic lawmakers and two organizations from opposite ends of the political spectrum lacked legal standing to challenge the constitutionality of JobsOhio, Mr. Kasich’s private, nonprofit economic development corporation.

“That was one of those decisions where you have a precedent, and you don’t make decisions that second-guess the legislature,” Justice French said.

Justice French realizes she faces a double threat with an opponent named O’Donnell.

Irish names have fared well in recent Supreme Court races, and there’s already a sitting justice with that name, Terrence O’Donnell, a Republican.

First Published October 12, 2014, 4:00 a.m.