12/11/2017

OSBA Says O'Neil Should Resign Immediately Following Gubernatorial Campaign Announcement

Randall Comer feels immediate resignation would remove any appearance of conflict or impropriety

The president of the Ohio State Bar Association said Friday that state Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill, who announced he will resign next month, should instead step down immediately.

O'Neill, a Democrat, announced Friday that he will resign Jan. 26 in order to continue his gubernatorial campaign. But OSBA President Randall Comer said in a release that O'Neill should resign immediately to "fulfill his duty to promote public confidence in the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.

"As a declared candidate for governor with a published campaign platform, recusal [from Ohio Supreme Court cases] is insufficient to remove any appearance of conflict or impropriety," Comer said in the statement.

O'Neill announced his candidacy in October, but said he planned to suspend his campaign if Richard Cordray, the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, entered the race. Since Cordray's announcement on Tuesday, O'Neill reversed course and decided to resign from the state's highest court to continue his gubernatorial bid.

Please click here to read the complete article from The Cleveland Plain Dealer.