Court News Ohio
Court News Ohio
Court News Ohio

Justice O’Donnell Receives Alumni of the Year Award

Image of Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O'Donnell

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O'Donnell.

Image of Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O'Donnell

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O'Donnell.

On May 22, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell received Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Alumni of the Year Award.

Justice O’Donnell earned his law degree in 1971 and was recognized during the Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association’s Annual Recognition Luncheon with Terry H. Gilbert of Friedman & Gilbert who also received an alumni award at the event.

“I am very humbled and honored by this recognition,” Justice O’Donnell said. “This is a special moment in my career, and I am very proud to join the ranks of those prior distinguished recipients who have been recognized.”

After obtaining his law degree, Justice O’Donnell served as a law clerk to Ohio Supreme Court Justice J.J.P. Corrigan in 1971. He then clerked for Judges John V. Corrigan and John M. Manos on the Eighth District Court of Appeals. Justice O’Donnell also practiced law with the firm of Marshman, Snyder & Corrigan in Cleveland for six years and directed the paralegal education program at Dyke College and taught CPA law review classes at Cleveland State University.

Justice O’Donnell has been a member of the state judiciary for more than 30 years and has served on both the trial court and appellate court. He began his judicial career in 1980 on the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court and served there for 14 years until his election to the Eighth District Court of Appeals in 1994. He served there for eight years, and subsequently became a visiting trial court judge in various counties throughout the state before joining the Supreme Court in 2003. He was elected in 2004 and reelected in 2006, and again in 2012 with almost 70 percent of the statewide vote that year.