Hamilton County Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas will make history as the first Latina judge to ever hear a case at the Ohio Supreme Court. At the invitation of Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, Judge Zayas will serve as a visiting judge on June 12, 2018.
She will hear oral arguments in State v. Edwin Vega about the constitutionality of a police search of a sealed envelope. The case involves a routine traffic stop by a Cleveland State University Police Officer. Judge Zayas will be sitting in for a justice who recused herself from the case.
Born in Spanish Harlem and raised in tough New York City neighborhoods, Judge Zayas came to Cincinnati 30 years ago to work for Proctor & Gamble. After six years at P&G, she enrolled at the University of Cincinnati College of Law to pursue her dream of becoming an attorney. She served the community as an attorney for nearly 20 years before Hamilton County voters elected the political outsider to become Ohio’s first Latina appellate judge in 2016.
During her tenure on the court Judge Zayas has blazed an impressive trail. She has partnered with her fellow judges and taken the Court of Appeals to the community by holding court at the Colerain Township and Anderson Township community buildings. Judge Zayas’s election inspired her to mentor our youth. She created the “Students to Court of Appeals Program,” a partnership with Cincinnati high schools that gives students the opportunity to learn about the court system, observe our court system in action, and interact with judges and attorneys.
Judge Zayas stated, “I am humbled and honored to serve on Ohio’s highest court. Growing up I never imagined that I would have this opportunity.”