COLUMBUS — As a justice on the Ohio Supreme Court, Cleveland-based appellate Judge Lisa Forbes says she would bring “depth and breadth” of experience stretching from the halls of Capitol Hill, to courtrooms as a practicing business lawyer, to the judicial bench.

“What will resonate with Ohio voters is really what resonates with me, quite frankly, the need for the Supreme Court to serve as an effective firewall to protect our democracy,” she told The Blade. “That means to protect the rights under the constitution of all Ohioans, not a select few, but all.”

Eighth District Court of Appeals Judge Forbes, 60, of Shaker Heights, is vying on March 19 with Columbus-based appellate Judge Terri Jamison, for the Democratic nomination for one of three high court seats on this year’s ballot. The winner will face Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Dan Hawkins, a Republican, on Nov. 5 for the two years left in an unexpired term.

Judge Forbes carries the Ohio Democratic Party’s endorsement and the financial support and other advantages that come with it.

“They did a lot of hard work, and I was deemed to be the most qualified candidate in this race...,” she said. “And there’s a practical advantage because I’m a proud Democrat, and I’m proud to carry that banner.”

With the court currently split 4-3, Democrats have another shot at taking back the majority for the first time in decades. But that has been true of the last few election cycles, and Republicans have maintained their majority.

Judge Forbes earned a bachelor’s degree in public policy from New York’s Cornell University in 1985 and went from there to the halls of Capitol Hill in Washington, working in congressional offices and on campaigns before going to law school at Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University.

“I think [that experience] did benefit me as a litigator,” she said. “When you talk to a jury and when you’re talking to a judge that you’re presenting a new complicated issue to, you need the same skills that you need when you talk to the electorate about issues that they don’t deal with on the daily.”

She received her law degree in 1992 and went to work for what is now the major international law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease, based in Columbus.

While business interests in Ohio have traditionally aligned both philosophically and financially with Republican candidates in Supreme Court races, Judge Forbes argues they should take a second look at her.

“I did a wide variety of types of disputes,” Judge Forbes said. “I did trust and estate litigation, and I handled a fair amount of legal malpractice defense. I worked at a business law firm for 27 years. I understand the issues that confront businesses.”

She was first elected to the Cleveland-based appellate bench in 2020 and was re-elected to a full six-year term in 2022. She had yet to complete a full six-year term when she decided to ask voters for a promotion to Ohio’s highest court.

“I don’t get to necessarily pick when the opportunity is available,” Judge Forbes said. “There’s a need. ... There’s a lot of important issues that we see are just parading before the Ohio Supreme Court, and I want to do my part to make sure that the Supreme Court serves as an effective firewall to protect our democracy, protect the rule of law."

She believes that last year’s pushback by Ohio voters in the form of ballot issues bucking what supporters described as Republican legislative overreach will translate into support for Democratic candidates for the high court.

While stressing no position on whether Issue 1, which added a right to abortion access to the Ohio Constitution, was the right policy, Judge Forbes said she’s concerned about what she’s seen as a “lack of enthusiasm” for those responsible for fully implementing it.

“Issue 1 has now become part of the Ohio Constitution ...,” she said. “There’s a new constitutional provision, and the people of Ohio spoke. It’s the job of the branches of government to do their will.”

She also watched as Republican leaders pushed back against multiple, 4-3 bipartisan rulings by the high court that struck down congressional and state legislative maps seen as unconstitutionally partisan.

“The Supreme Court spoke clearly [on redistricting],” Judge Forbes said. “It degrades the rule of law when the Supreme Court speaks, and they’re not followed. The Supreme Court doesn't have an army.”

She pointed to appellate opinions she wrote that she said demonstrate her efforts to explain complicated legal issues so that non-lawyers can follow her reasoning. One of them was a decision in which she opined that the Reagan Tokes Law is unconstitutional.

The law is named for a former Monclova Township woman who was kidnapped and murdered in 2017 by a man who’d recently been released from prison. The law allows the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to trigger a longer sentence for inmates convicted of certain violent felonies if they fail to behave while behind bars.

While calling the Tokes murder a “terrible, terrible situation,” Judge Forbes opined that the law failed to provide for the constitutional due-process rights of defendants, a position subsequently mirrored in Supreme Court dissents. The three-judge panel’s position was later overturned by the full 8th District bench. Ultimately, the Supreme Court upheld the law 5-2 in a separate case.

“I’m proud to say that I changed the discussion of the due-process aspects of the Reagan Tokes Law," she said. “The legislature had not provided for any due-process within the statute.”

First Published March 10, 2024, 12:00 p.m.