Dayton Docket

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody Stewart spoke at the University of Dayton School of Law’s Commencement.

Stewart welcomed students to the profession of law and advised them to be "powerful while simultaneously being peaceful." 

Stewart made history in November 2018 when she became the first African-American woman elected to the state’s Supreme Court.

Before her time on the Ohio Supreme Court, Justice Stewart served on the Eighth District Court of Appeals. She has also been an administrator for a health care management company, a music teacher, a civil defense litigator, and a law school administrator and professor.

"I consider myself a lifelong learner, so the more you learn about different things, I think the better informed your decisions are," Stewart told WOSU radio in a January interview.

Stewart joins Microsoft President Brad Smith and Vice Chairman of Citigroup Raymond McGuire as recent School of Law Commencement speakers.