Judith Ann Lanzinger, Justice
Jan. 1, 2005 - present

Judith Ann Lanzinger became the only person elected to all four levels of the Ohio judiciary when she was elected the 150th Supreme Court Justice in 2004. Over her 24-year career, she has served on the Supreme Court, the 6th District Court of Appeals, the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas and the Toledo Municipal Court.

The first in her family to attend college, Justice Lanzinger became the second woman to earn a master’s degree in judicial studies from the National Judicial College and University of Nevada, Reno. She received her undergraduate degree magna cum laude in education and English from the University of Toledo.

She then taught elementary school and started a family before earning her law degree cum laude at the University of Toledo College of Law where she was valedictorian of her class. Before joining the bench, she practiced with a corporation and then a Toledo law firm for several years. The Justice has been an adjunct professor since 1988 at her former law school and taught judicial courses in seven states, as well as in the former Soviet Union. The National Judicial College recently recognized her for 12 years of faculty participation.

Justice Lanzinger currently chairs the Supreme Court Commission on the Rules of Superintendence for Ohio Courts. Previously, she served as chairperson and a board member of the Ohio Judicial College. She is a charter member and past president of the Morrison R. Waite American Inn of Court, a group that mentors law students and new attorneys. She also served as co-chair of the Public Education and Awareness Task Force of the Ohio Courts Futures Commission, and was a member of the Supreme Court of Ohio Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline, as well as the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission.

Her awards include the Toledo Junior Bar's Order of the Heel, and the Arabella Babb Mansfield Award from the Toledo Women’s Bar Association, both given for assistance to young lawyers.

The Justice and her husband, Robert Lanzinger, live in Toledo and have a daughter, son and son-in-law, who are all attorneys, and three grandchildren who keep her well-balanced and enjoying life.

Last day of current term: Dec. 31, 2010.