Latest news with #WomenintheLaw
Washington Post
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Ohio League of Women Voters wants pioneering female justice's portrait brought up from the basement
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio League of Women Voters urged the state's high court on Friday to relocate a portrait of the state's first female chief justice from a new exhibit to be located in the courthouse basement back to the building's main hallway. In a letter dripping with sarcasm, Executive Director Jen Miller told Ohio Supreme Court justices she was certain that they chose the location of their new Women in the Law display — where retired Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor 's portrait would be the centerpiece — to emphasize the difficulties of being female. 'Situating the exhibit so far from the history-making action happening above ground also sends a powerful message about the distance women must travel to reach success,' she wrote, 'inviting visitors to consider the fortitude required to make it out of the darkness of exclusion.' O'Connor's portrait initially stood in the court's Grand Concourse, alongside an otherwise all male lineup. But it recently was removed amid disagreements about its placement among justices. Miller suggested that the court could commission a reproduction for use in the exhibit and return the original back upstairs. Among the issues that have arisen with the portrait, by artist Paul Wyse, is that its carved walnut frame is freestanding — so to be stood, rather than hung on a wall. Miller otherwise commended the conservative-leaning court for supporting such an exhibit as 'so many of those in leadership are abandoning expressions of diversity and inclusion,' and said the league plans to widely promote it. O'Connor, a Republican, sided with Democrats in a series of rulings finding GOP-drawn congressional and Statehouse maps unconstitutional, alienating many members of her own party. Last year, after retiring because of age limits, she became the face of a proposed constitutional amendment to change the troubled political mapmaking process. The measure failed in the face of forceful opposition from Ohio's Republican establishment. In its announcement, the court said the Women in the Law exhibit — to be located in the Thomas J. Moyer Judicial Center's 'historic ground floor' — will highlight women besides O'Connor, too. Other female trailblazers include Florence Allen, the first woman to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court and the first woman appointed to a federal court of appeals; and Melody Stewart, the first Black woman elected to the high court. Planned interactive displays would also bring to life the stories of former justices Alice Robie Resnick, Yvette McGee Brown and Evelyn Stratton, among others, the court said. A message seeking comment on Miller's letter was left Friday.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio League of Women Voters wants pioneering female justice's portrait brought up from the basement
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio League of Women Voters urged the state's high court on Friday to relocate a portrait of the state's first female chief justice from a new exhibit to be located in the courthouse basement back to the building's main hallway. In a letter dripping with sarcasm, Executive Director Jen Miller told Ohio Supreme Court justices she was certain that they chose the location of their new Women in the Law display — where retired Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor 's portrait would be the centerpiece — to emphasize the difficulties of being female. 'Situating the exhibit so far from the history-making action happening above ground also sends a powerful message about the distance women must travel to reach success," she wrote, "inviting visitors to consider the fortitude required to make it out of the darkness of exclusion.' O'Connor's portrait initially stood in the court's Grand Concourse, alongside an otherwise all male lineup. But it recently was removed amid disagreements about its placement among justices. Miller suggested that the court could commission a reproduction for use in the exhibit and return the original back upstairs. Among the issues that have arisen with the portrait, by artist Paul Wyse, is that its carved walnut frame is freestanding — so to be stood, rather than hung on a wall. Miller otherwise commended the conservative-leaning court for supporting such an exhibit as 'so many of those in leadership are abandoning expressions of diversity and inclusion,' and said the league plans to widely promote it. O'Connor, a Republican, sided with Democrats in a series of rulings finding GOP-drawn congressional and Statehouse maps unconstitutional, alienating many members of her own party. Last year, after retiring because of age limits, she became the face of a proposed constitutional amendment to change the troubled political mapmaking process. The measure failed in the face of forceful opposition from Ohio's Republican establishment. In its announcement, the court said the Women in the Law exhibit — to be located in the Thomas J. Moyer Judicial Center's 'historic ground floor' — will highlight women besides O'Connor, too. Other female trailblazers include Florence Allen, the first woman to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court and the first woman appointed to a federal court of appeals; and Melody Stewart, the first Black woman elected to the high court. Planned interactive displays would also bring to life the stories of former justices Alice Robie Resnick, Yvette McGee Brown and Evelyn Stratton, among others, the court said. A message seeking comment on Miller's letter was left Friday.
Associated Press
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Ohio League of Women Voters wants pioneering female justice's portrait brought up from the basement
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio League of Women Voters urged the state's high court on Friday to relocate a portrait of the state's first female chief justice from a new exhibit to be located in the courthouse basement back to the building's main hallway. In a letter dripping with sarcasm, Executive Director Jen Miller told Ohio Supreme Court justices she was certain that they chose the location of their new Women in the Law display — where retired Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor 's portrait would be the centerpiece — to emphasize the difficulties of being female. 'Situating the exhibit so far from the history-making action happening above ground also sends a powerful message about the distance women must travel to reach success,' she wrote, 'inviting visitors to consider the fortitude required to make it out of the darkness of exclusion.' O'Connor's portrait initially hung in the court's Grand Concourse, alongside an otherwise all male lineup. But it recently was removed amid disagreements about its placement among justices. Miller suggested that the court could commission a reproduction for use in the exhibit and hang the original back upstairs. Miller otherwise commended the conservative-leaning court for supporting such an exhibit as 'so many of those in leadership are abandoning expressions of diversity and inclusion,' and said the league plans to widely promote it. O'Connor, a Republican, sided with Democrats in a series of rulings finding GOP-drawn congressional and Statehouse maps unconstitutional, alienating many members of her own party. Last year, after retiring because of age limits, she became the face of a proposed constitutional amendment to change the troubled political mapmaking process. The measure failed in the face of forceful opposition from Ohio's Republican establishment. In its announcement, the court said the Women in the Law exhibit — to be located in the Thomas J. Moyer Judicial Center's 'historic ground floor' — will highlight women besides O'Connor, too. Other female trailblazers include Florence Allen, the first woman to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court and the first woman appointed to a federal court of appeals; and Melody Stewart, the first Black woman elected to the high court. Planned interactive displays would also bring to life the stories of former justices Alice Robie Resnick, Yvette McGee Brown and Evelyn Stratton, among others, the court said. A message seeking comment on Miller's letter was left Friday.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former chief justice's portrait removed from prominent place at Ohio Supreme Court
Two years after she retired, the Ohio Supreme Court decided to move the portrait of Republican Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor from its prominent spot in the Grand Concourse to the education center in the building's basement. O'Connor's portrait will be part of a "Women in the Law" exhibit that will be built this spring, a spokesman for the Ohio Supreme Court said. In December 2022, judicial center staff, three Democrats and O'Connor agreed the portrait should go in the main hallway on the first floor. It was a nod to O'Connor's place in Ohio history as the first female chief justice and someone who served in statewide elected office longer than any woman. But the three Republican justices at the time − Sharon Kennedy, Pat DeWine and Pat Fischer − voted against the prominent spot. They argued against rush decisions about placement of portraits or diminishing the beauty of the hall. O'Connor, though a lifelong Republican, aligned with Democrats on hotly contested cases involving redistricting. That put her on the outs with her own party. Lawmakers threatened to impeach her and the Ohio Republican Party took her photo off the wall at its state headquarters. Former justice Michael Donnelly, a Democrat, said the court should keep O'Connor's portrait in the Grand Concourse on the first floor. "As the first elected female chief justice in our state's history, she absolutely deserves to have her portrait displayed in that hall. Her legacy is one of advancing the legal profession and the independence of the judiciary for all Ohioans," Donnelly said. He added, "The hall is now left completely with all males, some of whom cannot compare their level of achievements with Chief Justice O'Connor's legacy. What type of message does this send to aspiring females entering the legal profession in Ohio?" Other historical figures whose images are in the Grand Concourse include eight presidents, nine U.S. Supreme Court justices, two speakers of the U.S. House and former Chief Justice Tom Moyer, who oversaw the building restoration and served as chief for 23 years until his death in 2010. "We have relocated the O'Connor portrait to create excitement for the area where her contributions and those of other trailblazing women of Ohio will be recognized," the court spokesman said. State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@ or @lbischoff on X. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former Ohio chief justice Maureen O'Connor's portrait relocated
