Ohio Debate Commission Ohio Supreme Court Judicial Candidates Forum coming 10/13; The City Club of Cleveland forum with former Justices coming 10/19

October 13: Ohio Supreme Court Judicial Candidates Forum

This one-hour virtual forum will be recorded live-to-tape on Friday, October 9, and made available for viewing and broadcast across the state beginning Tuesday, October 13 at 10:00am. Karen Kasler and Curtis Jackson are the moderators and all four candidates will be participating. Please check our website at ohiodebatecommission.org later this week or early next week when we will publish a “where to watch and listen” guide for how to view the forum. In addition, it will be available on our website for viewing beginning on October 13.

While Ohio Supreme Court races are not as high profile as the gubernatorial or U.S. Senate races, we recognize the Court plays an important role in evaluating constitutional questions and issues of significant public interest here in Ohio. In a poll we commissioned earlier this year with Baldwin Wallace, nearly three-quarters of Ohio voters surveyed indicated they thought it would be useful to listen to or watch a program with the state Supreme Court candidates. We hope you will consider making this information about the forum available to your membership so that they can view it during this election cycle.

In case you are not familiar with the Ohio Debate Commission, it was established in 2018 to organize and facilitate statewide debates and forums.  In 2018, the ODC hosted a gubernatorial debate and a U.S. Senate debate. At our website, you can read more about our work, see past programs, who supports us, and who is on our board.

October 19: The City Club of Cleveland Forum, Balance of Play: The Future of the Supreme Court of Ohio  (program listed here)

Normally, judicial races do not receive much attention from the media or the public. However, the high-profile confirmation hearings of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanagh – and the impending nomination of a justice to replace the recently deceased Ruth Bader Ginsberg – have highlighted the critical role judges and the courts play in our democracy. The Ohio Supreme Court race is considered by many to be a crucial statewide race on the Ohio ballot. How will the election affect Ohioans and the outcome of the cases facing the Court next year, including the redrawing of legislative maps? What did we learn from the ODC event about the candidates and how they might decide cases?

Join us as three distinguished retired judges who served as an advisory panel to the Ohio Debate Commission – Justice Yvette McGee Brown, Justice Judith Lanzinger and Judge Ronald Adrine – analyze the ODC Ohio Supreme Court Judicial Candidates Forum and discuss the future of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

The livestream will be available beginning at 12:30 p.m. Have questions? Tweet them at @TheCityClub or send a text to 330.541.5794.

Fall General Student Body Meeting on Monday, October 19 at 5:00-6:00pm

Attention All Akron Law Students! SBA will be hosting the Fall General Student Body Meeting on Monday, October 19 at 5:00-6:00pm via Webex. Topics to be discussed include: Midterms (Examsoft and Brightspace procedures), in-person and online classes, updates on the Spring semester schedule, the Bar Exam and Character and Fitness applications, and the impact of COVID-19 on the school. Student reps from the working group will be in attendance to discuss the potential CSU/Akron partnership and want to hear your thoughts! Use the link below to join the meeting:

Session number: 120 658 1925 
Session password: SBUA 
Go to: https://uakron.webex.com/uakron/k2/j.php?MTID=tcd0e825ef846055aa78e21bdaecdfb75

Hope to see you all there!

– SBA Executive Board

The Fall Apparel Sale is now active!!

It will run from September 21st, until October 26th with deliveries expected around November 9th. Please place your orders using the following cashnet link: https://commerce.cashnet.com/LAWORG

If you have any questions regarding the sale or if this is your first time ordering any apparel from the SBA sale please do not hesitate to reach out to your SBA representatives to discuss the ordering process, pricing, or delivery.



Volunteer to Serve as a Poll Worker – a Message from the President of the American Bar Association

As president of the American Bar Association, I ask that your law schools let students know of the opportunity to serve as poll workers in the 2020 election. The ABA’s Poll Worker, Esq., initiative is sponsored with the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors.

Poll workers help ensure free and fair elections, and law students as well as lawyers are especially suited to serve. With the added obstacle of a pandemic this year, finding people who are at lower risk to assist as poll workers is even more important. This is an opportunity for young lawyers and soon-to-be lawyers to step up and serve their communities.

Law students, lawyers, and others can visit www.canivote.org and click on the “Become a Poll Worker” tab to find out how to serve in their jurisdictions. Depending on the state, tasks may range from staffing polling places to processing returned ballot envelopes and more.

More information is available at ambar.org/vote, a website of the ABA Standing Committee on Election Law.