Ohio Supreme Court race 2024: Who is Judge Dan Hawkins?

Judge Daniel Hawkins is a bit of a political unicorn: he was the only Republican elected to the Franklin County Common Pleas Court bench in 2018, as the county turns a deeper blue.

"Obviously, it's getting harder and harder for Republicans to win in Franklin County, but I think I've got a good reputation here and have developed a lot of support from both Democrats and Republicans," Hawkins said.

He served as an assistant county prosecutor, handled violent cases as the leader of the special victims' unit, and then served as a municipal court judge, focused on environmental matters such as neglectful landlords and dilapidated properties. Six-years ago, voters elected him to his current job.

Now, Hawkins has his eye on the Ohio Supreme Court. He is running against 8th District Court of Appeals Judge Lisa Forbes for an open seat.

Ohio Supreme Court race 2024: Who is Judge Lisa Forbes?

Why is there an open seat? Justice Joe Deters, who was appointed to fill a vacancy on the high court by Gov. Mike DeWine, decided to challenge his colleague, Justice Melody Stewart, for a full six-year term.

The winner in the Hawkins-Forbes race will serve just two years and then decide whether to run for re-election in 2026.

This marks the first statewide campaign for both Forbes and Hawkins. In the post-primary campaign finance reports, Hawkins had $255,242 on hand while Forbes had $41,422.

Supreme Court decisions impact how much Ohioans pay in taxes, whether utility companies can add fees to ratepayers' bills, how insurance and business laws are interpreted, what government records will be available to the public and more. The court also interprets constitutional amendments, such as the reproductive rights amendment that voters approved in November 2023.

Who is Judge Dan Hawkins?

Hawkins, now 48, grew up in a working-class neighborhood of Columbus. His dad worked for Ohio Bell and as a school bus driver and picked up extra shifts as a janitor to make ends meet.

His parents weren't overtly political but stressed the importance of God, country and family, he said. Hawkins grew up in the Ronald Reagan era and came of age as Republicans gained control of Congress. That's how he gravitated toward the GOP.

He attended Bowling Green State University, thinking he wanted to be a police officer, but then decided to be a prosecutor. He earned his law degree from Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Rather than run for reelection to his current seat, Hawkins decided to run statewide for the Ohio Supreme Court. He said the high court's ruling on what judges must consider when setting bail conditions lit a fire under him.

In a 4-3 decision issued in January 2022, the court found that excessive bail is unconstitutional and when setting money bail, judges should only consider whether the defendant is a flight risk – not the seriousness of the crime or public safety concerns.

Deters, Attorney General Dave Yost, and others campaigned for a constitutional amendment that would require judges to consider the seriousness of the crime when setting bail conditions. Hawkins and Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Shanahan, a Republican running for Ohio Supreme Court, both wrote columns supporting the constitutional amendment.

Voters approved it in 2022.

Cases that Hawkins handled

When asked which cases illustrate the type of judge he is, Hawkins pointed to two from his time on the municipal court.

Motel One, a notorious nuisance property on Columbus' east side, was closed in April 2012 after prosecutors said police had been called there more than 500 times since 2006. The owner failed to follow a court order to demolish it.

When Hawkins got on the bench more than a year later, he ordered jail time for the recalcitrant owner. Once bulldozers took the motel down, neighbors celebrated with a pizza party, Hawkins said.

Another high-profile case came Hawkins' docket in 2014. The city of Columbus wanted a temporary restraining order against UberX in a case about whether the ride sharing service complied with the city's ride-for-hire regulations. Hawkins denied the city's request, saying it seemed the city and Uber were working out their differences and granting a restraining order would've put Uber at a disadvantage against its competition, Lyft.

Abortion cases

Abortion cases are more likely to find their way to the Ohio Supreme Court now that the Dobbs ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court said abortion restrictions are up to states to decide. Likewise, Ohio voters in 2023 approved a constitutional amendment covering reproductive rights. So, any legal questions regarding how that amendment should be interpreted and applied will likely be decided by the Ohio Supreme Court.

The Democrats running for the supreme court are endorsed by Planned Parenthood while the Republicans are backed by Ohio Right to Life.

All six candidates said they pledge to follow the constitution and law.

Applying the law

Hawkins and his opponent, Lisa Forbes, both say they apply the law as written and don't seek a particular, pre-determined outcome in cases − something often described as "legislating from the bench."

"I'm not an ideologue. I'm one of those judges who just calls the balls and strikes, looks at the law, applies the law that in front of them and, sometimes, making decisions that are unpopular and difficult to make," Hawkins said.

Hawkins describes himself as a strict textualist, who bases his decisions on the plain language of the law, constitution and written contracts and tries to make his reasoning clear in his rulings.

"I'm just going to try to do my best to ignore the noise because I've done that as a judge and as a prosecutor," he said.

Criminal sentencing data

The Ohio Sentencing Commission scrapped a contract it held with University of Cincinnati that aimed to get judges to use the same form for writing their criminal sentencing decisions. Ultimately, the goal was to create a database of criminal sentencing decisions so that the courts and researchers could identify trends, biases and areas for improvement.

Some judges didn't like the idea of a searchable database and raised questions about how the data would be used.

The commission, which is chaired by Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, is now deciding its next steps.

Hawkins said generally, he believes more information helps judges make better decisions. But, he said, sentencing decisions are based on the individual facts of a case.

Are judicial races nonpartisan?

Sort of. Trial and municipal court races in Ohio are nonpartisan, but a new state law requires partisan labels in general elections for appellate and supreme court candidates.

The party label law is expected to help Republican candidates for supreme court this year with Donald Trump at the top of the ticket. Trump twice won Ohio.

Justice Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, is suing to overturn the law requiring partisan labels. Brunner lost her bid for chief justice in 2022 against Republican Sharon Kennedy. That was the first election cycle in which the partisan label law was in force.

Republicans have held a majority of the seven seats since 1986 − nearly four decades. Democrats started to main gains on the court in recent years, but then legislators changed the law to require party labels.

Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Election: Who is Judge Lisa Forbes running for Supreme Court?