The Supreme Court Ohio Annual Report

Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer
Currently the longest-serving Chief Justice in the United States,
Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer is a leader in providing citizens with
improved access to the courts through alternative dispute resolution
and computer technology.
Since he became Chief Justice in 1987, Ohio has been a leader in
providing substance-abuse treatment to nonviolent offenders. The
Chief Justice also works with leaders of the judiciary and the General
Assembly to develop family courts, a comprehensive approach to
resolving criminal and civil issues confronting families. As chairman
of the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission, Chief Justice Moyer
has led efforts to revise Ohio felony, misdemeanor, traffic and
juvenile sentencing laws adopted by the General Assembly.
The Chief Justice also is in the forefront of efforts to improve
the method of selecting judges in Ohio and has worked to develop
legislative proposals to increase reporting requirements for judicial
campaign contributions and to increase the minimum professional
qualifications required of judicial candidates. He recently co-hosted
a Forum on Judicial Selection to discuss amending the way Justices
of the Supreme Court of Ohio are selected.
Chief Justice Moyer also works with lawyers and judges in other
countries as they develop independent judiciaries and has worked
with judicial leaders in the Ukraine, China, Argentina and Chile.
The Chief Justice received his law degree from The Ohio State
University. He served eight years as a judge of the 10 th District Court
of Appeals in Franklin County, four years as executive assistant to
the governor of Ohio and eight years in the private practice of law
in Columbus.
Chief Justice Moyer serves as vice-chair of the Advanced Science
and Technology Adjudication Resource Center (ASTAR), a national
consortium to prepare judges for managing the resolution of
disputes that present complex science issues. He also chairs the Task
Force on Politics and Judicial Selection for the Conference of Chief
Justices and co-chairs its Committee on Emergency Preparedness in
the Courts.
He serves on the board of Justice at Stake, a national organization
that supports fair and impartial courts. In 2009, he also was
appointed to the Advisory Committee of the (Sandra Day)
O’Connor Judicial Selection Initiative.
In 1987, at the 300 th Ohio State University commencement, he was
recognized as one of 40 outstanding alumni. In August 2009, Chief
Justice Moyer delivered the commencement address to about 1,900
graduates at Ohio State’s summer quarter commencement.
Among Chief Justice Moyer’s many awards are the American
Judicature Society Herbert Harley Award for improving the
administration of justice in Ohio and the National Client Protection
Organization’s 2008 Isaac Hecht Law Client Protection Award.
2009 staff
Daniel Fausey
Kenneth Grose
Brandon Lester
Daniel Shuey
Joseph Smith
Melissa Uhlich
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