Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger and portrait artist Jeffrey Klopping pose for a picture in front of former Justice Lanzinger's official portrait.

Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger and portrait artist Jeffrey Klopping pose for a picture in front of former Justice Lanzinger's official portrait.

At a courtroom ceremony on Feb. 6, the Ohio Supreme Court dedicated the portrait of former Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger.

After becoming the only person in Ohio history to be elected to every level of the state’s judiciary, Justice Lanzinger concluded her 12-year career on the Supreme Court in December. She could not run for re-election because of the constitutional age restriction for judges.

Lanzinger used numbers – courts, campaigns, colleagues, staff, and jury trials – to quantify her career while acknowledging that they don’t tell the whole story.

“Each of the cases before me has told a story of dispute or conflict or even crime,” she told the attendees, including many family members. “These are all subjects for the law to resolve. We know that law is based on abstract principles, but in my view, at its center, law is also a helping profession because every story involves people. And I’ve been very privileged over the last 31 years to serve as a judge for the people of Ohio.”

Artist Jeffrey Klopping, Lanzinger’s cousin, spent six years completing the portrait after spending two years in the planning stages. After the family unveiled the portrait, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor accepted it on behalf of the Court.

Chief Justice O’Connor spoke of Lanzinger’s precision for the law during her remarks.

“Judy knows that words have meaning, and, in the law, that is especially true. Words in a constitution, a statute, or a rule, their placement and use are the means by which we govern ourselves,” she said. “If imprecise, or sloppy, or overbroad, the consequences are real and sometimes result in a failure to accomplish what is intended. Certainty is sacrificed, and society suffers.”

Toledo Municipal Court Presiding Judge Joshua W. Lanzinger spoke of his mother’s hard work, passion, and love of the law while University of Toledo College of Law Dean D. Benjamin Barros spoke of her “abiding love of the English language.”

The portrait will hang in the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center in Room 104. View the entire ceremony.