Ohio Supreme Court justice candidate Terri Jamison spoke to 25 Democrats at the Cardington Café March 8. Jamison told about her 11 years of experience as a judge; first being elected to the Franklin Court of Common Pleas in 2012 and elected to the 10th District Court of Appeals in 2020.

Jamison is seeking the Democratic nomination in the March 19 primary for the open two-year seat on the Ohio Supreme Court. Appellate Judge Lisa Forbes is her opponent in the primary.

The judge began her speech with her early days in Welch, West Virginia, where she worked in the coal mines until they closed. She moved to Columbus where she had family and started her own insurance agency, which she owned for 16 years. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Franklin University, she sold her insurance business and graduated from Capital University Law School.

She began her legal career in the Public Defender’s Office in Franklin County and then opened Jamison Law Offices, LPA. She has been either lead counsel or co-counsel in trials throughout Ohio. Her focus was on areas of criminal, domestic, juvenile and probate law.

A big concern for Jamison is avoiding a waste of taxpayer dollars. She strongly recommends special dockets. She praised specialized dockets such as the substance abuse docket and said it would be good for more counties to have these specialized dockets.

Jamison emphasized the importance of reducing recidivism, or relapse in criminal behavior. She said post-secondary education and other opportunities such as the substance abuse courts are important in aiding the courts in reducing recidivism.

Morrow County Democrat Party Chairman Susan Grundy noted that Morrow County has had a Substance Abuse Court for many years with Judge Robert Hickson and Judge Tom Elkin.

“Numbers are important when going for grants and funding,” said Jamison. She added it is very important to track the courts’ records of repeat offenders and the success of specialized dockets.

“The numbers matter when applying for grants and funding,” Jamison said. “Updated technology is needed in all the counties to track information in the courts.”

Jamison described her own success when she requested additional staff in getting fathers to pay child support. When the county wouldn’t give her money to hire additional staff, she used students from Capital University to do some of the work. When the data showed success in their getting payments, and she had saved the court $400,000, the county gave her funding for an additional staff person.

Jamison concluded her message saying her 11 years of experience on the bench in two courts make her the most well-rounded candidate along with her background in juvenile and domestic case experience. Her husband, Ty, retired from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office after 27 years. They have three sons.

Alberta Stojkovic is a correspondent for The Morrow County Sentinel. She can be reached at [email protected].