November 3, William O Neill 119 Waverly Lane South Russell, OH Dear Mr. O Neill,

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1 1700 Lake Shore Drive, Columbus, Ohio November 3, 2012 William O Neill 119 Waverly Lane South Russell, OH oneill4justice@aol.com Dear Mr. O Neill, The Ohio State Bar Association Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee met today to consider a complaint about promotional material contained on your website at As is the custom of our committee, we are notifying you of the committee s finding. We will also notify Justice Cupp and we will release this letter to the Ohio media. The committee considers matters pertaining to judicial advertising of which it becomes aware, by written communication via regular mail or electronic mail, from any source based upon the following standard: Campaign advertising that impugns the integrity of the judicial system, the integrity of a candidate for the Supreme Court, or erodes public trust and confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary by verbally or visually attempting to lead voters to believe that a candidate will decide issues or cases in a predetermined manner. The committee determined that statements on your website, taken as a whole, violate the standard in that they impugn the integrity both of a candidate and of the court, and imply that justice is for sale. The committee found that your materials include the phrase money and judges don t mix, then they go on to say that your opponent does not subscribe to that theory. The committee was particularly concerned about your assertion in videos on your site that campaign contributors expect more than justice, and that money is being given to the court, not the candidate. Especially troubling was the question in your materials: what do these contributors expect in return, justice or influence, and the visual of money on the table. This material on your campaign site crosses the line and falsely implies that justice is for sale in Ohio.

2 Mr. O Neill, the committee now asks you to immediately remove and refrain from including statements that impugn the court s integrity and imply that justice is for sale in your campaign materials. Ohioans are better served by learning about judicial candidate qualifications and experience. Part of fulfilling the committee s purpose is to ask candidates for the Supreme Court of Ohio to sign our clean campaign pledge. In this election cycle, you were the only candidate who did not sign the pledge, yet you have sought to have the committee hold others to its standards. In the interest of good faith and fair play, we again call on you to sign the pledge, a copy of which is included with this correspondence. The OSBA committee continues to call on all candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court as well as independent committees to refrain from using campaign materials and ads that impugn the integrity of Ohio s highest court and the candidates for seats on that court and asks candidates to focus on their credentials and experience. The goal of the OSBA Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee is to serve as the public s watchdog, to see that advertising stays focused on judicial qualifications and does not deteriorate into name calling and negativism. We will continue to monitor advertising and campaign materials to help the public get the information they need to make informed voting decisions. Sincerely, Maxine Thomas, Chair Ohio State Bar Association Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee cc: Ohio State Bar Association Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee Justice Robert Cupp CONTACT INFORMATION: Maxine Thomas, chair OSBA Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee (mobile)

3 1700 Lake Shore Drive, Columbus, Ohio November 2, 2012 Robert Bennett Ohio Republican Party 211 South Fifth Street Columbus, Ohio Dear Mr. Bennett, The Ohio State Bar Association Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee met to consider a complaint regarding an advertisement paid for by the Ohio Republican Party in support of Justice Robert Cupp. As is the custom of our committee, we are notifying you of the committee s finding. We will also notify Justice Cupp, candidate O Neill, and we will release this letter to the Ohio media. The committee reviewed what it determined to be a revision of the ad that both our committee and Justice Cupp renounced last week. Following the committee s review of the revised ad and the corresponding web page the ad refers to, the committee determined that statements in the ad, taken as a whole, violate committee standards in that they impugn the integrity of the judicial system, the integrity of a candidate for the Supreme Court of Ohio, and erode the public trust and confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary by attempting to lead voters to believe that a candidate will decide issues or cases in a predetermined manner. The Committee was troubled by inferences in the material on the web page regarding past decisions by then-judge O Neill because they, as presented, could lead the public to believe that he would decide cases in a predetermined manner. In the committee s estimation, use of the above-mentioned references in the ad is misleading and erodes the public s trust and confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. The OSBA Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee now asks the Ohio Republican Party to take down this ad and corresponding web page and cease its use in any form.

4 The goal of the OSBA Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee is to serve as the public s watchdog, to see that advertising stays focused on judicial qualifications and does not deteriorate into name calling and negativism. We will continue to monitor advertising and campaign materials to help the public get the information they need to make informed voting decisions. Sincerely, Maxine Thomas, Chair Ohio State Bar Association Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee cc: Ohio State Bar Association Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee Justice Robert Cupp William O Neill CONTACT INFORMATION: Maxine Thomas, chair OSBA Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee

5 1700 Lake Shore Drive, Columbus, Ohio November 2, 2012 William O Neill 119 Waverly Lane South Russell, OH oneill4justice@aol.com Dear Mr. O Neill, The Ohio State Bar Association Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee met yesterday to consider a complaint regarding an advertisement supporting Justice Robert Cupp that was paid for by the Ohio Republican Party. Following the committee s deliberation, there was a finding that the ad in question and the corresponding web page violate committee standards. A copy of the letter the committee sent to the Ohio Republican Party is included for your reference. The committee wishes to reinforce its purpose with you and make it clear that at no time are decisions made on partisan grounds or for the particular benefit of any candidate. The committee considers matters pertaining to judicial advertising of which it becomes aware, by written communication via regular mail or electronic mail, from any source based upon the following standard: Campaign advertising that impugns the integrity of the judicial system, the integrity of a candidate for the Supreme Court, or erodes public trust and confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary by verbally or visually attempting to lead voters to believe that a candidate will decide issues or cases in a predetermined manner. The goal of the OSBA Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee is to serve as the public s watchdog, to see that advertising stays focused on judicial qualifications and does not deteriorate into name calling and negativism. Part of fulfilling the committee s purpose is to ask candidates for the Supreme Court of Ohio to sign our clean campaign pledge. In this election cycle, you were the only candidate who did not sign the pledge, yet you have sought to have the committee hold others to its standards. In the interest of good faith and fair play, we again call on you to sign the pledge, a copy of which is included with this correspondence.

6 We will continue to monitor advertising and campaign materials to help the public get the information they need to make informed voting decisions. Sincerely, Maxine Thomas, Chair Ohio State Bar Association Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee cc: Ohio State Bar Association Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee Justice Robert Cupp CONTACT INFORMATION: Maxine Thomas, chair OSBA Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee