Articles - Sharon L. Kennedy

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Sharon L. Kennedy met with the Leadership Muskingum group from Zanesville on May 21, 2014, during the group's tour of the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center.

She discussed the American system of government and the Ohio judicial structure in particular with them.

When asked how she found her way to the Supreme Court, Justice Kennedy attributed it to the core principles her parents instilled in her at a young age.

"They taught me that I could be anything I wanted as long as I did three things: decide and commit, work hard, and have fortitude," Justice Kennedy said.

Those were the values, Justice Kennedy said, that carried her all the way through law enforcement training, time on the police force, law school, private law practice, time on the bench as a domestic relations judge, to finally campaigning for and being elected to the Supreme Court of Ohio.

Justice Kennedy also took questions from the audience and spoke about the time commitment required in order to run for Justice.

Justice Kennedy is serving her first term on the Supreme Court of Ohio. Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Justice Kennedy served on the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division from 1999 to 2012. Justice Kennedy served as the administrative judge there from 2005 until December 2012. Justice Kennedy began her career in the justice system as a police officer in Hamilton, Ohio. She received her law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.