With less than three weeks left before Election Day, a federal court upheld a state law requiring partisan labels for candidates running for appellate and supreme court seats in Ohio.
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner, the only Democrat currently holding statewide elected office,filed a lawsuit over the law, saying it violated her First and Fifth Amendment rights. She argued that forcing candidates to carry a party label conflicts with judicial ethics rules.
In July 2021, Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law a measure requiring party labels in general elections for some judges. Since then, Democrats have lost every race for Ohio Supreme Court.
U.S. District Court Judge Benita Pearson on Oct. 14 granted summary judgment to Ohio Secretary of
State Frank LaRose and other defendants and rejected Brunner's arguments. The ruling said that listing a candidate's party affiliation conveys accurate information about a candidate and doesn't compel or restrict the candidate's free speech.
Pearson noted that Brunner ran as a Democrat and sought her party's backing in several elections.
Judicial canons had restricted judges' ability to make certain statements but a recent ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court saidthat candidates have a First Amendment right to make political endorsements. Pearson said that ruling rendered part of Brunner's argument moot.
Brunner is running for reelection against Republican Colleen O'Donnell, a former Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Democrat Jennifer Brunner loses federal lawsuit over partisan labels
