The Ohio Chamber of Commerce's ranking of Ohio Supreme Court justices won't appear as a contribution to the campaign of Republican Terrence O'Donnell. But it clearly was designed to have the same effect.
Judicial canons prohibit candidates for the bench from discussing specific cases.
So it's up to the Chamber and other interest groups to do the job for them. In this case, the Chamber's survey was designed to measure how friendly the seven justices are on business-related cases before the court. Lo and behold, Justice Alice Robie Resnick happens to get the worst rating from the Chamber. She is running for re-election against Judge O'Donnell, an appellate judge from Cleveland. Business and insurance interests have made no secret that they're gunning for Justice Resnick, author of a decision last year that struck down limits on damage awards in personal injury and medical malpractice lawsuits.