Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Brown and Supreme Court Justice Maureen O'Connor, candidates for Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice, will debate at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at noon, Wednesday, Sept. 22. The debate will be in the law school's Moot Courtroom at 1801 Euclid Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

Cleveland State University Provost Geoffrey Mearns will moderate the hour-long debate. The candidates will answer questions from the moderator, law students and if time permits, audience members.

Both Brown and O'Connor are graduates of Cleveland-Marshall.

Brown was appointed by Gov. Ted Strickland to serve the remaining term of Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who died on April 2. Prior to his appointment, Brown served as judge for Franklin County's Probate Court, where he presided over the largest single-judge court in Ohio, serving as both judge and clerk of the court, overseeing 43 employees and seven magistrates. Brown also has served as Franklin County Common Pleas judge, Ohio assistant attorney general and Mayfield School Board member.

O'Connor was first elected to the court in 2002. She was re-elected in 2008 with 67 percent of the vote and began her current term in January 2009. Prior to that, she was Ohio lieutenant governor and director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, overseeing nearly 3,800 employees. She also served as a prosecuting attorney in Summit County, a Summit County Common Pleas Court judge, magistrate in Summit County Probate Court and a practicing attorney.

"We welcome the opportunity to host this important debate," said Interim Dean Phyllis L. Crocker.

About Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, founded in 1897 as the Cleveland Law School, was the first law school in Ohio to admit women and one of the first to admit minorities. In 1946, the Cleveland Law School merged with the John Marshall School of Law, founded in 1916, to become the Cleveland-Marshall Law School. In 1969, the Law School joined Cleveland's new public university as its sixth college and was renamed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law of Cleveland State University. Early graduates of the College of Law laid the foundation for the legal profession in Northeast Ohio. Now in its 113th year, Cleveland-Marshall prepares promising students to be America's leaders in the 21st century in law, business, non-profit agencies and government.

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