Making her third appearance on the Supreme Court of Ohio bench, Judge Carol Ann Robb served as an assigned judge during oral arguments Tuesday. The Columbiana County native is a trailblazer in her personal life and in her legal career.

She was the first in her family to graduate from college. While working in the office of a construction company out of college, a customer and mentor saw her potential and brought in a prominent attorney to convince her to go to law school.

“I reflect upon that, and I think sometimes we don't appreciate that our words of encouragement will have long-term effects on the people that we encounter,” Judge Robb said. “Attorney David White that day took time out of his busy schedule and came to meet a young lady that he didn't know at all, but he’d just heard about through a mutual friend, and gave me encouragement. And it made a significant impact upon my life.”

Judge Robb went on to earn her law degree from the University of Akron before joining the firm where she clerked throughout law school and met another group of mentors to guide her on her journey.

While raising her family, she opened a private practice, which she ran for about 18 years before being asked to serve as a magistrate for the Columbiana County Common Pleas Court and later as the municipal court judge.

“I had always been politically aware, but I had never been very politically active,” Judge Robb said of the transition to becoming an elected official. “But I had a group of wonderful people that stepped around me and mentored me and assisted me and gave me good, solid advice.”

Several years later, a position opened on the Seventh District Court of Appeals. She won her county in a landslide election and became the first to represent Columbiana County on the Seventh District in nearly 100 years.

The faith her community had in her that night instilled the importance of serving them to the best of her ability.

“I realized we have the luxury of time and contemplation here on the appeals court, unlike you have at the trial court bench,” she said. “Many times, I will work on something, and if I’m not quite settled, then I’ll set it aside and I’ll consider it again tomorrow because it’s important that we get it right, or as right as we can.”

Judge Robb knows that very few cases make it to the Supreme Court, so many times, the decisions she and her colleagues make at the court of appeals are final.

“That gives a new dimension to it and a whole new sense of responsibility,” she said. “They are the last word for that case. They are the last word in that area of the law until the Supreme Court speaks otherwise.”

This week, Judge Robb sat for Justice Joseph T. Deters, who recused, in the case of the State of Ohio v. James Echols. The appeal examines the rules of evidence related to witness intimidation. The Ohio Constitution gives the chief justice authority to assign an appellate judge to hear a Supreme Court case when there is a justice recusal.

“When I’m asked to sit on the Supreme Court, it is just an overwhelming honor and a privilege and a responsibility, and I take it seriously,” she said.

Judge Robb also has a permanent place at the Supreme Court, joining other women trailblazers. Alongside fellow Mahoning County jurists, she modeled for a mural capturing the women’s suffragist movement in Ohio. The mural is displayed in the Civic Center Drive lobby of the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center.

“It was just a wonderful experience to think how far women have progressed over the past 100 years,” Judge Robb said. “We don’t appreciate the limited status that women had until that movement.”

Going forward, Judge Robb takes every opportunity to inspire young people to blaze their own trail.

“If I hear of anyone that is interested in pursuing law, I try to encourage them to take a critical look at what their natural gifts and talents are and to pursue a career and a life path that will utilize those gifts and talents to their fullest potential,” she said. “I think we're all born with gifts that are unique to us, and I think we have an obligation to foster them and develop them and become all that we were created to be.”