From top: Fifth District Court of Appeals Judge John W. Wise and Sixth District Court of Appeals Judge Stephen A. Yarbrough.

From top: Fifth District Court of Appeals Judge John W. Wise and Sixth District Court of Appeals Judge Stephen A. Yarbrough.

Fifth District Court of Appeals Judge John W. Wise and Sixth District Court of Appeals Judge Stephen A. Yarbrough served as visiting judges on the Ohio Supreme Court today and heard oral arguments in two separate cases. 

Judge Wise replaced Justice Terrence O’Donnell who recused himself from Hope Academy Broadway Campus, et al. v. White Hat Management, LLC, et al. (Case No. 2013-2050). The case is about who owns property bought by a private entity to operate public charter schools.

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.

Judge Wise last served as a visiting judge on the Supreme Court in December 2006.

“It is always an honor to be invited to sit by assignment with the Ohio Supreme Court. The cases heard before the Supreme Court always present unique and challenging issues of law to be determined,” Judge Wise said. “The opportunity to review and discuss those opinions with the other justices of the Supreme Court is always an enriching experience.”

Judge Wise was elected to the Fifth District in 1995. He also served on the Canton Municipal Court in 1990 and later was elected to the Stark County Court of Common Pleas. Prior to sitting on the bench, Judge Wise was in private practice for 10 years.  He received his law license from Ohio Northern University School of Law.

The Fifth District Court of Appeals serves 15 counties in central 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.

Sixth District Judge Yarbrough replaced Justice O’Donnell who recused himself from Patricia Hulsmeyer v. Hospice of Southwest Ohio, Inc., Joseph Killian, and Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (Case Nos. 2013-1644/2013-1766). The cases are about whether an employee who suspects abuse of a nursing home resident must report the alleged abuse to the director of health before she can file a retaliation suit for being fired.

This was Judge Yarbrough’s first time sitting on the bench for the Ohio Supreme Court. Judge Yarbrough was elected to the Sixth District in 2010. Prior to sitting on the appellate bench, Judge Yarbrough served as a judge on municipal and common pleas general, domestic relations, juvenile, and probate division courts. He also served as a former assistant attorney general and was a member of the Ohio Senate. Judge Yarbrough received his law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law.

The Sixth District Court of Appeals serves eight counties in northwest Ohio.