USA TODAY Honors Former Chief Justice of Ohio Maureen O’Connor

Maureen O’Connor is one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, recognizing women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. The program was launched in 2022 as a continuation of the Women of the Century program, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. Check out this year’s honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.

Maureen O’Connor, who has served in the state longer than any woman in Ohio history, grew up in an Irish Catholic family characterized by hard work, service to others, and personal responsibility.

Her grandmother, Eleanor Murphy Neff, set an impeccable example. Neff joined the workforce during the Great Depression and World War II, working as a social worker. On Saturday mornings, Neff made O’Connor and her siblings work.

“I remember cleaning the house, there was supposed to be a shelter for women coming out of prison. I wasn’t thrilled about having a Saturday – I think maybe more than one Saturday, if I remember,” O’Connor said. who grew up near Cleveland and was one of eight children. “We had to take it out because these women were going to come here… I would never say to my grandma, ‘No, I don’t want to do that. I mean, I didn’t even say it in private to my mother.”

The “don’t complain, just get the job done” lesson has served O’Connor well in her professional career.

O’Connor graduated from Cleveland State University School of Law. She has served as a probate court judge and a general court judge in Summit County. When the vacancy came up, she decided that the district attorney was too important a position to leave to just anyone.

After her two sons graduated from high school, O’Connor agreed to run for state with Republican Bob Taft in 1998. She was Lieutenant Governor and then won election to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2002. O’Connor became the first woman to serve as Chief Justice in 2011. In court, she heard over 2,500 oral arguments and wrote 421 majority opinions and 77 dissenting opinions.

In her final years of public service, O’Connor became persona non grata in her own political party. The Ohio Republican Party removed her picture from the wall of their headquarters, and the Republican state legislators threatened to impeach her. Her sins? O’Connor sided with three Democrats in court, dismissing Republican-drafted legislative and political maps of Congress since the 2020 Census.

O’Connor shrugged off the criticism, publicly stating after the 2022 midterms: “I’ve been called worse for better. And I don’t care.”

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor resigned from the Ohio Supreme Court on December 31. The age limit stipulated by the Ohio State Constitution prevented her from running again. She has held statewide elected office longer than any woman in state history. Courtney Hergesheimer/Columbus Dispatch

If they can do it, I can do it.

I was a magistrate in probate court and that gave me perspective from behind the bench. And I thought to myself, I’m a judge now, and there’s no reason why I can’t be a judge. So I worked hard, did what was necessary, and became a civil court judge. Again, if they can do it, I can do it. You watch, you learn, and you realize that this is something you might want to do. Then you will understand how you are going to do it. And you do it.

Maureen O’Connor If they can do it, so can I. You watch, you learn, and you realize that this is something you might want to do. Then you will understand how you are going to do it. And you do it.

I have respect for the many women who have quietly advanced the cause. And I think of my grandmother, who was born in 1901. She was a very progressive woman, very progressive. She was a Democrat, my grandfather was a Republican. But she believed in equality. She believed in helping people, was a social worker, and was a Catholic. That’s how I was raised.

So this is the most important thing in my life. Both my mother and grandmother are a great example of hard work, advancing the cause of women and faith in all their granddaughters and daughters. I am thankful. But I am also grateful to all the women who came before them.

You expect me to say when I was elected Chief Justice or when I got to court. Professionally, I am most proud of the fact that in 2016 I did not have opponents of this work, because for me it meant that I was doing my job quite well. I had support from both sides of the aisle, I had the judiciary behind me.

And it helped that in the previous election I won all 88 districts, and in the previous election I won all 88 districts. So there is a possibility that I will win all 88 districts. There are many reasons why the Democrats didn’t turn someone against me. But what I heard was: You are doing a good job.

Maureen O’Connor poses next to her portrait after the opening ceremony for the Thomas J. Moyer Forensic Center in Ohio. Doral Chenoweth, Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch

I have been very lucky in my life. I have good health. I have had a great job in my career, two healthy sons, many grandchildren who are doing very well.

I have never had a personal tragedy. But that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the devastation people experience when tragedy strikes in their lives.

The standard definition is that you do what is right despite the obstacles. Last year, this word was often mentioned along with my name. I receive letters from people thanking me for my courage. And I think to myself, I don’t feel the courage to do the right thing. Under the redistricting map, I don’t feel like I’m tense.

People think, well, you’re a Republican and you’ve sided with three Democrats, that must have taken the courage. But I’ve never been that Republican. I’ve never been such a party animal.

Let’s just say the bridges I burned I would never use to cross them anyway.

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Associate Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court conducted oral argument in cases via online video during the coronavirus pandemic. Eric Albrecht/Dispatch

Try things on to see if they work. If not, take it off and move on. Find out what you want to do. You can understand this by figuring out what you don’t want to do. Don’t lock yourself into any position because you think you should.

When I was a student, I passed three specialties. I was going to be a teacher. After college, I got a master’s degree in teaching and began to teach students and realized that I did not like children enough to do this for a career. I really give credit to people who are teachers. But I said that teaching was not for me, and thousands of children benefited from this decision.

Secondly, don’t think that your career and your life will move from point A to point Z. If you go through life with blinders on, you will miss life.

Published at 09:45 UTC, March 19, 2023 Updated at 15:16 UTC, March 19, 2023

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