Tomorrow, January 26, 2018, is Bill O’Neill’s last day on the Supreme Court of Ohio. Mary DeGenaro, who is presently on the Seventh District Court of Appeals in Youngstown, has, as was widely expected, been appointed to the Supreme Court of Ohio today by Gov. John R. Kasich. She was sworn in this afternoon by Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, for a term beginning Sunday, January 28.

DeGenaro will serve out the remainder of O’Neill’s term this year, and will have to run for election this November for a full six year term, which she was planning to do anyway.  She was one of two judges endorsed by the Republican party for this year’s Supreme Court election. The other is Craig Baldwin, of the Fifth District Court of Appeals. In addition to the seat vacated by O’Neill to run for governor, incumbent Justice Terrence O’Donnell  cannot run again because of age, and will have to retire at the end of his term, December 31, 2018.

You can read more about Justice-Designate DeGenaro here.

With O’Neill’s departure, the Supreme Court of Ohio will become all Republican. Also, with O’Neill’s departure and the arrival of DeGenaro, the Court will once again have a female majority.