Ohio High Court Candidate Hit With Grievance for Online Post (1)

A former judge who’s running for Ohio Supreme Court is accused of holding herself out to the public as currently on the bench even though she’s not.

Colleen O’Donnell, a Republican, allegedly violated state judicial conduct rules when she reposted an endorsement post from the conservative group Ohio Value Voters to her Facebook page in January, according to the complaint filed March 20 and docketed Wednesday. The post linked to a webpage that detailed the endorsement, which repeatedly refers to O’Donnell as a “judge” even though she’s not currently not.

O’Donnell served as a common pleas judge in Franklin County from 2013 to 2023. She then worked as an immigration judge in Laredo, Texas.

The repost violated a prohibition on judicial candidates “knowingly” putting out false information or acting “with a reckless disregard of whether or not it was false,” the complaint said. She also allegedly violated rules on when she can use the word “judge” in campaign materials, the complaint said.

The alleged violations were referred to court officials, and a panel of appeals court judges found probable cause for the case to proceed. However, not all allegations made against O’Donnell were brought in the complaint. A hearing is set for March 31.

A spokeswoman for O’Donnell said in a text message that “we cannot comment on pending litigation.”

O’Donnell is one of four candidates running for the Republican nomination. The winner of the May primary will face Justice Jennifer Brunner, the court’s lone Democrat, in November for a six-year term.

Her website characterizes her as a “constitutional conservative” and says that during her time as an immigration judge, she “enforced the law as written, never once granted asylum, and consistently ordered the removal of illegal aliens from our country.” She’s the daughter of former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell.

O’Donnell is represented by Gallagher Sharp LLP.

The case is In re: Judicial Campaign Grievance Against Colleen Tonges O’Donnell, Ohio Court of Appeals Judges Association, No. 2026-06, complaint filed 3/20/26.