Ninth District Court of Appeals Judge Jennifer Hensal.

Ninth District Court of Appeals Judge Jennifer Hensal.

Ninth District Court of Appeals Judge Jennifer Hensal served as a visiting judge on the Ohio Supreme Court today and heard oral arguments in a case that examined appropriate sanctions for discovery rules violations.

Judge Hensal replaced Justice Terrence O’Donnell,who recused himself from State of Ohio v. Thomas M. Keenan (Case No. 2013-1731). The case is out of the Eighth District Court of Appeals in Cuyahoga County.

According to the Ohio Constitution, in the event of a recusal by a justice, the chief justice can select any of the 69 sitting Ohio appellate court judges to sit temporarily on the Supreme Court.

This was Judge Hensal’s first time serving as a visiting judge on the Ohio Supreme Court.

“It was an honor to serve on our highest court, and I am thankful for the opportunity,” Judge Hensal said.

Judge Hensal began her term with the Ninth District in February 2013. Prior to sitting on the bench, Judge Hensal served as the assistant law director in Wadsworth and as an assistant prosecutor in Medina and Wadsworth. She also represented other municipalities including the villages of Seville and Lodi in Medina County. After receiving her law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law in 1993, Judge Hensal began her professional career in private practice.

The Ninth District Court of Appeals serves four counties in northern Ohio, and hears cases from county, municipal and common pleas courts as well as original actions in habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, procedendo and quo warranto.