J. Craig Wright (June 21, 1929 – February 3, 2010) was a former Republican 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, ...

who served in that office from 1985 to 1996. Wright was born June 21, 1929, in

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to Harry Jr. and Marjorie Riddle Wright and grew up in

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. He graduated from

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in 1947, received a bachelor's degree from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

in 1951 and graduated from

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in 1954. From 1955 through 1956, he served as a special agent in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps. Upon completion of his military service, he entered private practice with the law firm of Wright, Gilbert and Jones in

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. His judicial career began with his election to the Franklin County Common Pleas Court in 1970, where he served as a judge in the general division for 14 years. He defeated incumbent Justice James P. Celebrezze in November 1984 to win election to his first term on the Ohio State Supreme Court and was re-elected in 1990. He was replaced by Evelyn Lundberg Stratton after retiring from the Supreme Court in 1996. Following his retirement, Wright entered private practice in

. He retired from private practice in 2003 and served by assignment of the Chief Justice on the

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through 2009. In addition to his judicial and legal activities, Wright was appointed by Governor

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to serve on the Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board from 2003 to 2006 and, at the time of his death, he was serving on the Ohio Public Defender Commission pursuant to an appointment from the Supreme Court. Wright's legacy includes participation with other lawyers and judges in establishing one of the first efforts in the nation to address substance abuse in the legal profession. This effort was a precursor to the Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program that has provided drug and alcohol dependency and mental illness treatment services to thousands of Ohio judges, lawyers, and law students since 1991. "Craig Wright was an extraordinary jurist," said Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer. "His intellect and his years of experience in the law served him well as a trial judge and justice of the

Supreme Court of Ohio 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, ...

. Craig's work in the field of alcohol and chemical addiction extended and improved the lives of hundreds of people. I have lost a good friend." Wright is survived by two daughters, Marjorie Jane and Alice Ann, three grandchildren, a sister, Patricia Wright Klitgaard and a brother, Michael Wright. He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Jane LaFollette and his two brothers: Thornton and Harry Wright III.

References

External links

Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, J. Craig Ohio Republicans Justices of the Supreme Court of Ohio Yale Law School alumni University of Kentucky alumni 2010 deaths 1929 births Lawyers from Columbus, Ohio Politicians from Chillicothe, Ohio Military personnel from Ohio Woodberry Forest School alumni 20th-century Ohio state court judges People from Chillicothe, Ohio People from Columbus, Ohio