First District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas

First District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas

First District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas served as a visiting judge on the Ohio Supreme Court today and heard oral arguments in a case involving whether police violated an Ohio man’s constitutional rights when searching and seizing marijuana candy in his car.

Judge Zayas replaced Justice Mary DeGenaro, who recused herself from State of Ohio v. Edwin A. Vega, (Case no. 2017-0618).

Judge Zayas joined Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Justices Terrence O’Donnell, Sharon L. Kennedy, Judith L. French, Patrick F. Fischer, and R. Patrick DeWine in hearing the case.

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.

Today was Judge Zayas’ first time serving as a visiting judge.

“It was exciting, but it felt like home,” Judge Zayas said. “I kept thinking of that little girl growing up in New York City.  I never dreamt this big.  I never gave myself permission to dream this big.”

Judge Zayas has served on the appellate bench since 2016. Previously, she served the Cincinnati community as an attorney for nearly 20 years. She worked at Procter & Gamble for six years before pursuing her dream to become a lawyer. Judge Zayas received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from City University of New York and her law degree from the University of Cincinnati.

The First District Court of Appeals serves Hamilton County, and hears cases from county, municipal, and common pleas courts, as well as certain original actions.