In the fall, Franklin County attorneys are asked which judicial candidates they prefer, and the Judicial Candidate Preference Poll results are released in time for the election in November. Click the links below to view poll results:

To help understand the Preference Poll, you must know that the Preference Poll includes the findings of the Columbus Bar Judiciary Committee candidate screenings. Those findings are arrived at by a vote of no more than 21 Committee members. The quorum requirement for the committee is 11.

The total membership of the Committee consists of 21 regular members and 9 alternates. In the event members are unavailable to participate in the interviews, the alternates are called upon. The by-laws of the Committee state that inasmuch as possible the Committee will be politically balanced.

Candidates are independently evaluated by the Columbus Bar Association Judiciary Committee through interviews, review of questionnaire answers and past performance evaluations, if applicable. The Committee changed its ranking system beginning this year; all candidates were rated on a scale of 1 – 5 stars, with 5 stars being the highest ranking. To receive a ranking of 1 star, more than 70 percent of the votes had to be cast in that category. In all other cases, the candidate was designated 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars, whichever of those designations had a majority of the votes.

The Committee findings are reported to the Columbus Bar Board of Governors. The Board oversees the Committee’s procedures to ensure compliance with the Committee’s bylaws. The Board concluded that the Judiciary Committee properly followed the required procedures and their results are included in the poll.

Click the links below to view the Judiciary Committee Findings:

Click here to download the Judiciary Committee Bylaws