First District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas is running for Ohio Supreme Court Justice in the Nov. 3 general election. She faces Republican Daniel R. Hawkins.

Asked why she is seeking the seat, Zayas said in our candidate questionnaire, "I believe everyone deserves courts they can trust to follow the Constitution, the law and the facts, not politics." She said she has "accepted zero corporate contributions from energy, banking or insurance interests because judicial independence matters."

Candidate information

Party: "Democrat. Judicial office, however, requires independence from political parties," Zayas said in our questionnaire. "I believe judges should leave politics at the courthouse door and decide cases based on the law rather than political considerations."

Education: "J.D., University of Cincinnati College of Law, 1997. B.S. in Computer Science, City College of the City University of New York (CUNY), 1987," Zayas said in our questionnaire.

Family: "My parents came to the United States from Puerto Rico. My mother had only a seventh-grade education and worked as a factory seamstress," Zayas said in our questionnaire.

She added, "After leaving a difficult marriage, she raised three children on a factory salary." Zayas said she is "also a mother of three adult children."

Experience and public service

Zayas has served on the First District Court of Appeals since 2016, according to her appellate court biography. In 2016, she became the first person of Latino heritage elected to a Court of Appeals in Ohio.

Asked about her work history, Zayas said in our questionnaire, "I have nearly 20 years of experience as an attorney … including criminal, family, immigration, intellectual property, labor and employment, custody, adoption and business cases."

She added, "Before practicing law, I worked as an IT Manager at Procter & Gamble, where I solved complex problems. Used my savings to attend law school, then built a legal career focused on serving people and solving problems."

Zayas pointed to her appellate record as a key qualification. She said in our questionnaire, "In 2025, the Chief Justice, who is from a different political party, selected me three times within 40 days to sit by special assignment on the Ohio Supreme Court."

In 2017, Zayas created the Educating Tomorrow's Leaders program. She said in our questionnaire that "more than 2,000 high school, undergraduate and law school students across Ohio have participated."

The National Hispanic Bar Association selected Zayas as its 2024 Judge of the Year, according to her appellate court biography.

On the issues

Judicial endorsements of political candidates: The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that judges may make political endorsements. Zayas said in our questionnaire, "I disagree with the decision because judicial independence is not only about being impartial; it is also about maintaining public confidence in that impartiality."

She added, "I will never endorse a political candidate. I believe judges should leave politics at the courthouse door."

Precedent: Asked when the Ohio Supreme Court should overrule its earlier decisions, Zayas said in our questionnaire, "Stability in the law is essential. Precedent should carry substantial weight because people, courts, businesses and government rely on established law when making decisions."

She added, "The Supreme Court should overrule its prior decisions only when there is a compelling reason to do so … A court should not change the law simply because the composition of the court has changed or because a different result is preferred."

Party labels and specialized courts: On party labels for Supreme Court ballots, Zayas said in our questionnaire, "I believe that both party endorsements and partisan ballot labels politicize the judiciary and undermine public confidence in independent courts." She also said she "strongly support[s] the appropriate expansion of Veterans, Mental Health, and Drug Courts to foster safer communities."