“2010 Candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court raised campaign cash from lawyers that may appear before them and from a variety of industries that likely have stake in what happens at the Ohio Supreme Court, according to a study released by Ohio Citizen Action’s Money in Politics Project.

These contributions to candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court fall along party and industry lines. Justice Maureen O’Connor and Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger received financial support predominantly from the Ohio Republican Party and the insurance and healthcare industries. Insurance companies dominated the contributions to the Republican candidates. In fact, insurance companies just from Cincinnati (American Financial Group, Cincinnati Equitable Corp, Cincinnati Financial Corp, Cincinnati Insurance Company, Hukill Hazlett Harrington Agency, Ohio National Financial Services, Ohio National Life Insurance, Schiff, Keidler-Shell, Inc., Stay Focused Insurance, Union Central Life Insurance Co., and Western & Southern Life Insurance) together contributed $157,845 to the contested Republican candidates for Ohio’s high court. In contrast, Democratic candidates Chief Justice Eric Brown and Judge Mary Jane Trapp received most of their support from the Democratic Party and labor unions like AFSCME, the Ohio Education Association and Longshoremen ($126,725 to both Democratic candidates).

“These patterns of giving aren’t anything new. They have been well-established since Election 2002,” said Catherine Turcer of the Money in Politics Project. “’Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.’ Judges in Ohio can still hear cases involving their contributors. It’s truly time to overhaul the system.”

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