Fourth District Judge Kristy Wilkin sits for her first Supreme Court oral argument.

Fourth District Judge Kristy Wilkin sits for her first Supreme Court oral argument.

Fourth District Court of Appeals Judge Kristy S. Wilkin wanted to be on the bench to grow as a legal scholar while handling the responsibility of upholding the law. Her pursuits reached a new level as a first-time assigned judge on the Supreme Court of Ohio.

“I spend a lot of time reading and evaluating cases. Part of it is intrigue because so many points can be made in a legal argument. But the most important factor is being thorough with my research because my decisions have an impact on others, and there’s no bigger representation of that than sitting on the Supreme Court,” said Judge Wilkin.

The Fourth District judge heard a case that brings into question the specifics of a libel lawsuit. She sat in place of Justice R. Patrick DeWine, who recused. The Ohio Constitution allows the chief justice to select an appellate judge to sit for a Supreme Court case when there is a justice recusal.

Judge Wilkin has been on the court of appeals since 2020, in the district representing 14 southern Ohio counties. The Highland County native was a general practice attorney for 14 years before ascending to the bench, handling a variety of cases that affected people and small businesses, including civil, family law, and real estate. That experience provided a foundation for the range of procedural, legal, and constitutional arguments she must consider in appeals.

“The appellate level feels like you’re a full-time student, which to me is the best part because through your research you discover laws and new approaches to arguing an issue,” Judge Wilkin said.

She has balanced being both a student and teacher of law for the last 20 years. She studied accounting as a scholar athlete on the golf team at Xavier University. But on her way to becoming a certified public accountant, she worked on a project at a foreclosure and bankruptcy firm that changed her path. She went on to law school and an externship with the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Ohio. While a practicing attorney, she was also educating others as an adjunct professor at Southern State Community College, where she later sat on the board of trustees.

Judge Wilkin’s favorite part about being a teacher was researching what she would discuss with her students, and how they would apply what they learned to their arguments.

“There’s a lot of growth as a student or lawyer when the goal is to have a winning argument. But when you’re a judge, you have to push for an even greater understanding of the law because of the duty you have to uphold it,” Judge Wilkin said.