Leonard J. Stern (October 4, 1904 – May 21, 1988) was a Republican lawyer from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

who served as a Common Pleas judge, an appeals court judge and from 1970 to 1977 was a justice of the

Ohio Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, ...

. Leonard J. Stern was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

on October 4, 1904, the son of Benjamin and Hermine (Markovitz) Stern. He managed his father's grocery store while working his way through

Cleveland–Marshall College of Law Cleveland State University College of Law is the law school of Cleveland State University, a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It traces its origins to Cleveland Law School, founded in 1897, which merged in 1946 with the John Marsh ...

. He graduated in 1926, was admitted to the bar, and went into private practice in Cleveland. He was a bailiff of the

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or , see ) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The county seat and most populous city is Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,264,817, making it the second ...

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

. In 1939, Stern and his family moved to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, where he was corporate counsel in the office of

Ohio Secretary of State The secretary of state of Ohio is an elected statewide official in the state of Ohio. The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state is responsible for overseeing elections in the state; registering business entities (corp ...

Earl Griffith Harry Earl Griffith (July 13, 1887 – March 30, 1940) was a newspaper publisher who served as the Secretary of the State of Ohio from 1939 to 1940. Griffith was born in Centerburg, Ohio, in Knox county. He was the son of Nellie Myrtle (Gunsaul ...

. In 1940 he became executive secretary to the Ohio Board of Public Works, which he held for six years. He then went into private practice in Columbus. In 1965,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Jim Rhodes James Allen Rhodes (September 13, 1909 – March 4, 2001) was an American attorney and Republican politician who served as the 61st and 63rd Governor of Ohio from 1963 to 1971 and from 1975 to 1983. Rhodes was one of only seven U.S. governors ...

appointed Stern to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, and he won a six-year term in 1966. He was appointed by Rhodes in 1969 to Ohio's 10th District Court of Appeals. In March 1970,

Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court Bold indicates chief judge or chief justice. The Supreme Court of Ohio, Ohio Supreme Court was created by the Ohio Constitution of 1802 with three judges, and had three or four through 1851. In 1851, the number of judges was increased to five. In ...

Kingsley A. Taft Kingsley Arter Taft (July 19, 1903March 28, 1970) was an American politician and distant relative of Ohio's more famous Taft family. He served as chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and also served briefly as a United States senator. Kingsley ...

died. On April 3, 1970, Governor Rhodes elevated Associate Justice C. William O'Neill to Chief Justice, creating a vacancy on the court. In August of that year, Rhodes appointed Stern to fill the remaining months of O'Neill's term. Stern won election to a six-year term in November 1970. He was unable to run for re-election in 1976 because he exceeded the 70 year age limit for judicial election proscribed in the

Ohio Constitution The Constitution of the State of Ohio is the basic governing document of the State of Ohio, which in 1803 became the 17th state to join the United States of America. Ohio has had three constitutions since statehood was granted. Ohio was created ...

. After retirement, Stern served as the first disciplinary counsel to the Supreme Courtand was a member of the

Ohio Court of Claims The Ohio Court of Claims is a court of limited, statewide jurisdiction. The court's jurisdiction extends to cases: #Against the State of Ohio, in which the state has waived sovereign immunity #Connected to suits against the State of Ohio where Pl ...

. On November 13, 1931, Stern married Anastasia Percin in Cleveland. They had two children. Stern died May 21, 1988. His funeral was at Temple Israel in Columbus, and burial was at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum, Columbus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, Leonard J. 1904 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American Jews Judges of the Ohio District Courts of Appeals Ohio Republicans Justices of the Supreme Court of Ohio Lawyers from Cleveland Politicians from Columbus, Ohio Cleveland State University College of Law alumni 20th-century Ohio state court judges 20th-century American lawyers