Maureen O’Connor
Maureen O’Connor holds a distinguished place in Ohio’s history as the tenth chief justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio and the first woman to lead the state’s judicial branch. Her tenure marked several historic milestones, including being the first chief justice to retire from office—her predecessors either passed away in office or were defeated in elections. Upon her retirement, she had become the longest-serving woman elected statewide in Ohio’s history.
Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Parma then Strongsville, Ohio, Maureen O’Connor’s dedication to public service was evident early in her life. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Seton Hill College in 1973 and earned her Juris Doctorate from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University in 1980.
O’Connor’s public service legal career began in Summit County, where she served as Magistrate of the Probate Court from 1985 to 1993. She then became Judge of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas from 1993 to 1995. Her peers elected her as the administrative judge, recognizing her skills in building coalitions and fostering collegiality while managing court operations.
In 1995, O’Connor transitioned to serve as Summit County Prosecuting Attorney, a position she held until 1999. During this time, she earned recognition from victims’ rights groups for her advocacy and was honored by Cleveland State University with the Distinguished Alumnae Award for Civic Achievement.
Her public service career continued when she was elected in 1999 as Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor alongside Governor Bob Taft, also serving as Director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
O’Connor was the first woman to serve as Director of the ODPS. Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, she became Ohio’s first liaison to the newly established U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She also chaired both the State of Ohio Security Task Force and the State Building Security Review Committee.
O’Connor was elected as the 148th justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio in November 2002, creating the first-ever female majority on the Court in January 2003 as its sixth woman justice. Her judicial leadership was affirmed when she won reelection in 2008, carrying all 88 Ohio counties, a feat she repeated in her 2010 campaign for Chief Justice. She was reelected as Chief Justice in 2016 without opposition and served until her constitutionally mandated retirement in December 2022.
Beyond Ohio, Chief Justice O’Connor served as president of the National Conference of Chief Justices and chaired the National Center for State Courts Board of Directors. She was a strong advocate for fairness in the judicial system, co-chairing the National Task Force on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices in 2016, as selected by her peers in the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators.
In retirement, O’Connor led efforts to amend the Ohio Constitution to eliminate gerrymandering, though the amendment was defeated in the 2024 statewide election.
In October 2023, she was appointed by the Ukrainian government to join a six-person initiative to vet candidates for the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. She has traveled to Ukraine eight times, witnessing firsthand the impact of Russian aggression.