The Supreme Court of Ohio
& The Ohio Judicial System

Justice
Judith Ann Lanzinger

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Additional Information
Archive of Public Speeches

Jan. 1, 2005 - present
Last day of current term: Dec. 31, 2010

When she was elected the 150^th Supreme Court Justice in 2004, Judith Ann Lanzinger made history by becoming the only person ever elected to all four levels of the Ohio judiciary. Over the last 25 years, she has served on the Supreme Court, the 6^th District Court of Appeals, the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas and the Toledo Municipal Court. This background helps her understand how Supreme Court decisions affect the work of all judges in the state.

The granddaughter of coal-miners, Justice Lanzinger was the first one in her family to attend college. She received a bachelor's degree magna cum laude in education and English from the University of Toledo. She then taught elementary school and started a family before earning a law degree cum laude at the University of Toledo College of Law where she was valedictorian of her class.

Justice Lanzinger practiced civil law with a corporation and then with a Toledo law firm before joining the bench. As a judge, she won scholarships to become one of the first to earn a master's degree in Judicial Studies from the National Judicial College and University of Nevada, Reno. The college recently recognized her for 12 years of being on its faculty.

The Justice enjoys speaking about the court system to community groups, especially to school children in the Law and Leadership program. She has been an adjunct professor since 1988 at her former law school and has taught judicial courses throughout the United States, as well as in the former Soviet Union. She has a special interest in the use of technology and has written more than 200 opinions during her term, with the aid of her ever-present laptop.

Along with her regular court duties, Justice Lanzinger currently chairs the Supreme Court Commission on the Rules of Superintendence for Ohio Courts. Previously, she served as chairperson and a board member of the Ohio Judicial College. She is a charter member and past president of the Morrison R. Waite American Inn of Court, a group that mentors law students and new attorneys. She also served as co-chair of the Public Education and Awareness Task Force of the Ohio Courts Futures Commission and was a member of the Supreme Court of Ohio Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline, as well as the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission.

Among her awards are the Toledo Junior Bar's Order of the Heel and the Arabella Babb Mansfield Award from the Toledo Women's Bar Association, both given for assistance to young lawyers.

Married for more than 40 years, the Justice and her husband, Robert Lanzinger, live in Toledo and have a daughter, son, and son-in-law, who are all attorneys, and three grandchildren, who keep her well-balanced and enjoying life.

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