Candidate Details
- Residence
Cleveland Heights - Email
mikedonnelly@me.com - Website
donnellyforjustice.com - Social Media
facebook.com/DonnellyforSupremeCourt
twitter.com/Donnelly4Ohio - Age
58 - Occupation
Associate Justice, Ohio Supreme Court - Education
Graduate, Saint Ignatius High School, 1984
B.A. from John Carroll University, 1988
Juis Doctorate, Cleveland State University College of Law, 1991
- Work Experience
Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, 1992--1997
Attorney, Civil Litigation, Davis & Young, Cleveland, Ohio, 1997-1999
Attorney, Civil Litigation, Climaco, Lefkowitz, Peca, Wilcox & Garofoli, Cleveland, Ohio 1999--2004
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge, 2005--2018
Associate Justice, Ohio Supreme Court, 2019 to present
- Family
I am married to Attorney Nancy Howe Donnelly. We have two children, Caroline and Tim. - Affiliations
I served on the board of the Cleveland Baseball Federation, which provides baseball and softball summer programs at no charge to children living in lower-income areas of Cleveland and East Cleveland.
I participated in the development of the Western Reserve Fire Museum, which educates children about fire safety and served as a board member of Chagrin Arts, a nonprofit founded in 2007 that promotes arts programing and is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in all its forms.
- Endorsements
Because it is early in the election cycle many groups and organizations have yet to consider/issue endorsements. That said, I was recently endorsed by the United Mine Workers, ACTOhio, and the Youngstown/Warren Black Caucus.
In In 2018 I earned the endorsement of impressive array of organizations and individuals, labor unions, social justice groups, the legal community, First Responders, and many of the state's major newspapers including:The Plain Dealer/cleveland.com
The Akron Beacon Journal
The Fraternal Order of Police
The Ohio Education Association
The Ohio Association of Public School Employees
AFSCME Council 8
Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council
Cleveland Stonewall Democrats
Columbus Fire Fighters Union Local #67, I.A.F.F
Lake County Bar Association
Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE)
Ohio Democratic Party
Ohio Education Association (OEA)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio - Bar Association Ratings
Bar Associations have not issued candidate ratings for the 2024 election cycle. In 2018 I received the following ratings:
Highly Recommended, Ohio State Bar AssociationExcellent, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Excellent, Norman S. Minor Bar Association
Excellent, Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
Rated 4.0 by Judgeforyourself.com
![Photo of Michael P. Donnelly](/assets/inc/timthumb.php?w=300&h=300&src=/cdn/michael-p-donnelly-on-the-bench-1.jpg)
Question 1
List your judicial experience (courts and years)
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge, 2005--2018
Associate Justice, Ohio Supreme Court, 2019 to present.
Former member and Chair of Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism
Former trustee, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Former member/Vice President, Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association
Former member, Ohio Jury Instruction Committee
Former member, Ohio State Board of Bar Examiners
Former member, Ohio Supreme Court Death Penalty Task Force
2021—2022, served as Ohio Supreme Court liaison to the Court’s Task Force on Conviction Integrity and Post-Conviction Review
As a member of the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism I helped establish the highly successful Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program which has received national accolades.
In 2011, I was one of two Ohio judges invited to participate in a two-year program created by the National Judicial College as part of their “Innovative Leadership Skills for Leader- Manager Judges Project,” which is designed to empower future judicial leaders across the United States to improve the way in which the justice system functions.
I serve as a faculty member of the Ohio Judicial College, teaching both attorneys and judges at numerous continuing-legal-education seminars on professionalism and issues related to criminal and civil justice reform and procedural fairness.
Abbreviated Candidate AnswersCuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge, 2005--2018
Ohio Supreme Court, 2019 to present.
During my career I held the following positions:
Member/Chair OSC Commission on Professionalism
Trustee, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Member/VP Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association
Member, Ohio Jury Instruction Committee
Member, Ohio State Board of Bar Examiners
Member, OSC Death Penalty Task Force
OSC's liaison to the Task Force on Conviction Integrity and Post-Conviction Review
I helped establish the nationally acclaimed Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program.
I was one of two Ohio judges invited to participate in the National Judicial College's “Innovative Leadership Skills for Leader- Manager Judges Project,” which iempowers future leaders to improve the functionality of the judicial system.
As a faculty member of the Ohio Judicial College, I teach attorneys and judges at numerous continuing-legal-education seminars on professionalism and issues related to criminal and civil justice reform and procedural fairness.
Question 2
What non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
As an assistant prosecutor and litigator who represented plaintiffs and defendants, I gained extensive real-world experience in the wide variety of cases that come before the Common Pleas Court. Trying serious felonies and negotiating plea agreements provided me with critical insight into what did and didn't work in the criminal justice system that proved invaluable when I was elected to the bench.
My work as a civil litigator taught me that “justice delayed is justice denied” is much more than a cliché, it is a painful truth that harms everyone involved in the civil and criminal judicial system.
People iwho have personal injury claims can find themselves on the brink of financial ruin as they wait years for their case to be tried or settled.
Defendants in criminal cases can spend years in jail awaiting trial while victims while victims and their families wait for justice to be done.
And the costs associated with complex business litigation mount exponentially as litigants endure inordinate delays.
With those factors in mind, I resolved to do everything in my power to expedite cases. I assured litigants I would be available to quickly and efficiently resolve any impasse related to discovery. I provided parties with case management orders that included ruling dates set far enough in advance of the trial date so that neither party would incur potentially unnecessary trial expense while awaiting a ruling from me and I provided every litigant with the highest degree of trial date certainty.
Abbreviated Candidate AnswersAs an assistant prosecutor and litigator who represented plaintiffs and defendants, I gained extensive experience in the wide variety of cases heard in Common Pleas Court. Trying serious felonies and negotiating plea agreements provided me with critical insight into what did and didn't work in the criminal justice system that proved invaluable when I was elected to the bench.
My work as a civil litigator taught me that “justice delayed is justice denied” is not a cliché, it is a painful truth that harms everyone involved in the civil and criminal judicial system.
People iwho have personal injury claims can find themselves on the brink of financial ruin as they wait years for their case to be tried or settled.
Criminal defendants can be incarcerated for long periods pre-trial while victims and their families wait years for justice to be done.
And the costs associated with complex business litigation mount exponentially as litigants endure inordinate delays.
With those factors in mind, I resolved to do everything in my power as a judge to expedite cases. I assured litigants I would be available to quickly and efficiently resolve any impasse related to discovery. I provide parties with case management orders that included ruling dates set far enough in advance of the trial date so that neither party would incur potentially unnecessary trial expense while awaiting a ruling from me and I made it a point to provide every litigant with the highest degree of trial date certainty.
Question 3
Why are you running for this particular court seat?
I ran for the Supreme Court in 2018 to rebuild the public’s faith in the judicial system and to serve as an independent, impartial Justice Ohioans could trust to uphold the Constitution and ensure that every person received equal treatment under the law.
I am seeking reelection to improve our justice system. The need for a strong, independent voice like mine on a court that has become increasingly politicized is greater than ever.
To combat the belief that the justice system is fundamentally unfair, I’ll continue collaborating with judges, prosecutors, attorneys, elected officials, and community leaders to support the widespread adoption of policies that will:
Promote the use of data to assure equity in sentencing
Combat wrongful convictions
Close Ohio’s justice gap
Eliminate backroom, false, and dark plea agreements
Make all Ohio courts more transparent, equitable, accountable, and efficient
In addition to leading the reform movement during my first term, I profoundly influenced the most meaningful cases to come before the court in decades. My independent votes and opinions, including dissents that highlighted issues of law misconstrued or ignored by my colleagues, played a critical role in:
Defending democracy
Preserving the right to vote on the Reproductive Freedom Amendment
Ending a multi-million-dollar First Energy surcharge
Strengthening labor rights
My allegiance to the Constitution and the people who expect and deserve nothing less than independence and equal justice under law rather than partisan politics or ideology will continue to guide my work.
Abbreviated Candidate AnswersI first ran for the Supreme Court to rebuild public faith in the judicial system and to serve as an independent, impartial Justice Ohioans could trust to uphold the Constitution and ensure that every person received equal treatment under the law.
I am seeking reelection to improve our justice system. The need for a strong, independent voice like mine on a court that has become increasingly politicized is greater than ever.
To combat the belief that the justice system is fundamentally unfair, I’ll continue collaborating with judges, prosecutors, attorneys, elected officials, and community leaders to support the adoption of policies that will:
Promote the use of data to assure equity in sentencing
Combat wrongful convictions
Close Ohio’s justice gap
Eliminate backroom, false, and dark plea agreements
Make Ohio's courts more transparent, equitable, accountable, and efficient
Along with leading the reform movement during my first term, I profoundly influenced the most meaningful cases to come before the court in decades. My independent votes and opinions, including dissents that highlighted issues of law misconstrued or ignored by my colleagues, played a critical role in:
Defending democracy
Preserving the right to vote on the Reproductive Freedom Amendment
Ending a multi-million-dollar First Energy surcharge
Strengthening labor rights
My allegiance to the Constitution and the people who expect and deserve nothing less than independence and equal justice under law rather than partisan politics or ideology will continue to guide my work.