Following America’s 250th anniversary, a group of judges, civic leaders, lawyers and advocates participated in the nonpartisan “Justice in Motion” bus tour.
The multi-state bus tour arrived in Columbus on Wednesday morning from Pennsylvania to represent voices in the Ohio judiciary.
Outside the Joseph P. Kinneary United States Courthouse in downtown Columbus, former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and former Supreme Court Justices Yvette McGee Brown and Michael Donnelly joined participants. Organizers say the initiative is designed to educate citizens about the importance of defending democracy with nonpartisan judges.
“It is so important for everyone to understand that judges are non-partisan. I mean they don't take an oath to a political party. They should not be influenced by a political party. They shouldn’t be told what to do and respond that way,” O’Connor said.
The judges stated the judicial branch of government protects democracy by ensuring equal justice through checks and balances. However, they believe the trend of viewing judges as “liberal” or “conservative” has politicized how to interpret the law.
“We all must push back when people say, ‘that was a liberal court, that was the conservative court,’” Brown said. “We have to get back to a place where judges are seen more as umpires — arbiters of the law. And we don't pass the law, we only get to interpret it.”
Donnelly explained that when he was a judge, he never swore an oath to a president, governor or political party, but instead pledged to uphold both the constitutions of Ohio and the United States.
“Once the public views us as just simply other politicians, it's hard to put that genie back into the bottle. It's hard restore that confidence. Public confidence in the judiciary is its lifeblood. If we lose it, that's the bedrock of our democracy, and we're all in danger,” Donnelly said.
Other participants included former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Robert Orr, former Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Ron Adrine, former Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers and lawyer Rachel Cohen.
After speaking, the former judges dressed in their black robes and marched toward the Ohio Supreme Court while holding purple roses to symbolize judicial independence. The march was inspired by the “March of a Thousand Robes” by Polish judges who protested government overreach.
The tour will later visit Wooster and Cleveland, before ending in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, outside of Detroit, on Friday.
