The Supreme Court of Ohio
& The Ohio Judicial System

Chief Justice
Thomas J. Moyer

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Additional Information
Archive of Public Speeches

Jan. 1, 1987 - present (as Chief Justice)
Last day of current term: Dec. 31, 2010

Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer is a leader in providing citizens with improved access to the courts through alternative dispute resolution and computer technology. He also seeks to ensure equal access to the courts through the development of a certification process for interpreters for non-English speakers and the hearing-impaired.

Chief Justice Moyer currently is the longest serving chief justice in the United States. 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 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 worked with all interested parties to develop legislative proposals to increase reporting requirements for judicial campaign contributions, and to increase the minimum professional qualifications required of judicial candidates. He also 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. After Ukraine gained its independence, he led efforts to introduce that country to the importance of the rule of law and continues to host delegations from Ukraine on a regular basis. Chief Justice Moyer also worked with judicial leaders in China, Argentina and Chile.

The Chief Justice received his law degree from The Ohio State University in 1964, and served eight years as a judge of the Tenth 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 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.

In June 1989, the Chief Justice received the American Judicature Society Herbert Harley Award for improving the administration of justice in Ohio. In August 1995, he was named president of the Conference of Chief Justices for a one-year term. In January 2003, he was awarded the James F. Henry Award for exemplary alternative dispute resolution leadership in the state judiciary from the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution. In addition, the National Client Protection Organization recognized Chief Justice Moyer with its 2008 Isaac Hecht Law Client Protection Award, given for demonstrated excellence in the field of law-client protection.

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