Justice Melody Stewart accepts an award from Bishop Edward C. Malesic of the Lawyers Guild of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland for her decades of distinction in the legal profession.

Justice Melody Stewart accepts an award from Bishop Edward C. Malesic of the Lawyers Guild of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland for her decades of distinction in the legal profession.

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody Stewart was honored by the Lawyers Guild of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland on Friday for her contributions to the legal profession.

Justice Stewart received the organization’s St. Thomas More Award, which is given to a distinguished member of the legal community for contributing high ethical standards and spiritual growth in the practice of law.

“Whatever qualities and characteristics I possess – as a lawyer, as a judge or justice, or just as an individual child of God – that the committee deemed worthy of recognition to honor me with this award, it is my greatest hope that those attributes have served to make life better for others, even in the smallest of ways,” Justice Stewart said.

As the 161st member of the Supreme Court elected in 2018, Justice Stewart is the first African American woman voted onto the state’s high court. Prior to joining the Court, she served as a judge for 12 years on the Eighth District Court of Appeals.

Justice Stewart’s legal career also includes time in academia at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law, and the University of Toledo College of Law. She also worked as an assistant law director for the cities of Cleveland and East Cleveland.

Outside of her day-to-day responsibilities, Justice Stewart also has contributed to numerous groups, including the Ohio Criminal Justice Recodification Committee, the Board of Trustees of the Judicial College, and as chair of the Ohio Capital Case Attorney Fee Council.

The guild, which serves Ashland, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne counties, recognized then-Justice Terrence O’Donnell with the St. Thomas More Award in 2017.

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