Ohio Supreme Court Justice Stratton to speak at Lake Erie College
Continuing Legal Education credit available
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton will present on the topic of Mental Illness and the Death Penalty at Lake Erie College on April 10 at 1:30 p.m. in the Morley Music Hall. This course has been approved by the Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education for 1.00 total CLE hours, with 0.00 of ethics, 0.00 of professionalism and 0.00 of substance abuse instruction for those interested in attending.
Born to missionary parents in Bangkok, Thailand, Stratton spent her childhood in southeast Asia, attending boarding school in South Vietnam during the height of the Vietnam War and also in Malaysia. Periodically visiting America with her parents, she returned alone at the age of 18, with only a few hundred dollars in her pocket. Stratton worked her way through school, receiving a doctor of law degree from The Ohio State University College of Law.
In 1989, as the first woman judge to be elected to the Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Stratton presided over major cases ranging from capital murder trials to major civil actions. In her years on the bench, she established a solid record of judicial integrity, fairness, and diligence and earned the nickname "The Velvet Hammer." Her work on the court led to her appointment, and subsequent election, to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Stratton has written a series of 23 articles about effectively dealing with mentally ill offenders in the criminal justice system. Stratton has had a longtime interest in developing solutions to this problem and has formed the Supreme Court of Ohio Advisory Committee on Mental Illness and the Courts for that purpose.
Furthermore, she has led efforts to create major changes in adoption law. As chairperson of a national committee, she has led a nationwide effort to speed up adoption appeals and she is a member of the board of trustees for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and Prevent Blindness Ohio.
The presentation is free and open to the public. Those interested in receiving one CLE hour need to register by calling Carolyn Perrett at 440/375-7168.