Sharon Lee Kennedy[1] (born March 15, 1962)[2] is an American jurist who has served as chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court since 2023.
[4] She was then a law clerk for Judge Matthew J. Crehan and director of the victim/witness division for the Butler County Court of Common Pleas from 1989 to 1991.
[2][4] Kennedy entered the March 6, 2012 Republican Party primary election for the unexpired term ending December 31, 2014, on the Supreme Court of Ohio.
[5] On November 6, 2012, she defeated incumbent Democratic candidate Yvette McGee Brown, who had been appointed to the seat on January 1, 2011, by Governor Ted Strickland.
[6] Kennedy's ethics were questioned in 2022 after she spoke to a Republican organization and called the issue of redistricting "the fight of our life," and made accusations about progressive groups and individuals, including those who are parties to cases pending before the court.