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CRACK IN CANON 7
One of the major obstacles to voters seeking to learn and understand
the differences between candidates running for the Ohio Supreme Court
has been Canon 7 of the Ohio Rules of Court Code of Judicial Conduct.
Canon 7 governs judicial campaign conduct and stipulates that judicial
candidates may not do any of the following:
•Make pledges
or promises of conduct in office other than the faithful and impartial
performance of the duties of the office;
•Make statements that commit or appear to commit the judge or
judicial candidate with respect to cases or controversies that are
likely to come before the court;
•Comment on any substantive matter relating to a specific pending
case on the docket of a judge.
Essentially,
Canon 7 prohibits judicial candidates from discussing cases or issues
that have come before the court, are currently before the court, or
may come before the court. In short, any substantive matter. That’s
why we see virtually all judicial candidates touting their judicial
and legal experience, law enforcement credentials, and character traits
like honesty, impartiality, fairness, and integrity. These are important
considerations, of course, but don’t really permit voters to distinguish
between competing candidates.
A recent federal District Court decision may change that, at least temporarily.
In July, a complaint was filed against Judge William O’Neill, who
is running against incumbent Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell,
alleging that he violated three other provisions of Canon 7 – in
particular, that O’Neill was, contrary to one of the Canon 7 provisions,
identifying himself as a Democrat in his campaign literature and on
his website.
O’Neill subsequently filed an application for a temporary restraining
order to prevent the Ohio Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Counsel
from disciplining him through the enforcement of these provisions. Last
week, Judge Ann Aldrich of the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of Ohio, Eastern Division, ruled in O’Neill’s favor,
finding that the three provisions in question violate O’Neill’s
First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression.
In her opinion, she wrote, “judicial candidates must be allowed
to impart whatever information they wish about their party membership
or affiliation, their views on political and legal matters, and their
personal philosophy – without restriction.”
Following this decision, O’Neill and another candidate for the
Ohio Supreme Court, Ellen Connally, have both made public comments about
the DeRolph school funding case – the type of comments typically
avoided by judicial candidates in deference to Canon 7.
Is it a new day in Ohio? Will all judicial candidates now be more forthcoming
about sharing their thoughts on cases and controversies? It appears
that in O’Neill’s case the answer is “yes.” But
don’t hold your breath for others to follow. Most will continue
to honor Canon 7, even if they’re not required to.
SUPREME
COURT YARD SIGNS AVAILABLE
With Labor Day and summer now in the rearview mirror, candidate activity
has increased and we’re beginning to see yard signs pop up all
over Ohio. Yard signs are a staple of traditional campaigning and serve
two important purposes:
Ý To increase a candidate’s name recognition. The more one sees
a candidate’s name, the better the chances the name will be remembered
and recalled at the polls on election day.
Ý To generate a sense of momentum and excitement. If one candidate has
signs everywhere and you can’t help but notice them, while another
candidate’s signs are nowhere to be found or are few and far between,
voters can’t help but get the sense that the first candidate enjoys
wide support.
In Ohio Supreme Court races, name recognition is especially important.
Recent polling shows that, of the six candidates running opposed for
the court this year, none are known by even a majority of Ohioans. To
make sure voters know who them and their qualifications, the candidates
will spend almost all the money they’ve raised on TV advertising.
TV is the most cost-effective way of communicating quickly to the widest
possible audience. But it’s also the most expensive, and their
campaign budgets typically don’t leave room for yard signs.
However, courtesy of our friends at the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation,
yard signs bearing the names of the three Ohio Supreme Court candidates
endorsed by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce PAC are available. If you would
like one or more of these AGGPAC-sponsored signs promoting the candidacies
of Judge Judith Lanzinger, Justice Terrence O’Donnell, and Chief
Justice Thomas Moyer, e-mail us at klake@ohiochamber.com
and we’ll arrange for them to be sent to you.
VOTER
REGISTRATION CLOCK TICKING
Encouragements to register to vote are nearly as plentiful this year
as are presidential race ads on an Ohio television during the six o’clock
news. If you’re not registered to vote by now, you must really
want to avoid jury duty – or aren’t aware that state law allows
jurors to be summoned not just from the list of registered voters, but
from a combined list of registered voters and licensed drivers.
No matter why you may not yet be registered, there’s still time
to rectify the situation – but just barely. The deadline for voter
registration for the November 2, 2004 General Election is Monday, October
4. To request a registration form, click
here.
PRESIDENTIAL
CONTEST IN OHIO – UPDATE
In the August 12th issue of The Political Edge, we provided the results
of four public polls of Ohio voters concerning the presidential race.
The polls were conducted between the third week of July and the second
week of August, and showed Ohioans – as expected – roughly
evenly divided in their support for Pres. George Bush and Sen. John
Kerry. Kerry’s largest lead was by three percentage points in one
poll, while the President led by five points in two others. The average
showed Pres. Bush ahead by 2.5 percent.
These polls were taken around the time of, or just after, the Democratic
National Convention and before the first “Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth” ads and the Republican National Convention.
Roughly six weeks later – yet still more than six weeks before
the election – how does Ohio look? Here are the results of some
of the most recent public polls:
According
to these polls, Pres. Bush now has anywhere between a three and a 12-point
lead in Ohio. His four-poll average lead is approximately 7%. What’s
particularly striking about these numbers is the remarkably low percentage
of undecided voters. Even if most of these voters break against the
incumbent and for Kerry, Kerry would still lose the state. His challenge
now is to try to win over voters currently favoring Bush.
Keep in mind, though, that six weeks is an eternity in presidential
politics.
AN
APPEAL FOR PAC SUPPORT
The November 2nd election is just a few short weeks away. For Ohio businesses,
the campaigns for the Ohio Supreme Court are critical. We’re doing
everything we can to make sure Ohioans know that, to secure a fair and
balanced court, they need to elect Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, Justice
Terrence O’Donnell, and Judge Judith Lanzinger to the Supreme Court.
We’re also finalizing plans right now to support our Chamber Choice
legislative candidates by running radio ads and contacting business
leaders and other voters in their districts.
However, these types of communications are expensive. If you haven’t
already made a contribution to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Political
Action Committee (OCCPaC) to help us elect pro-business candidates to
state government, would you please take a minute today to send us one?
You can make your personal check out to OCCPaC and mail it to OCCPaC,
P.O. Box 15159, Columbus, OH 43215. Thank you!
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