---
title: "Melody J. Stewart | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/melody-j-stewart-8138"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-08-02"
---

# Melody J. Stewart

Ohio Court of Appeals · Judge

## Profile

- Court: Ohio Court of Appeals
- State: Ohio
- Role: Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-06-30

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- Judge, Ohio Court of Appeals, 2006-present
- Succeeded by Justice Joe Deters in 2025
- The 161st Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, serving from January 2, 2019, to January 1, 2025, and making history as the first African American woman elected to the state’s highest court
- In the 2018 general election, she defeated incumbent Justice Mary DeGenaro to win a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court
- She also held the role of the court’s Administrative Judge in 2013 Supreme Court of Ohio

### Education

- Ph.D. — Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University (2008) She also received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Cleveland State University Supreme Court of Ohio
- University of Cincinnati
- Ph.D. — Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

### Additional information

- She has been recognized with multiple awards, including the St. Thomas More Award (2021) and the Nettie Cronise Lutes Award (2021)
- Stewart was first elected in 2006 to the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals and served two full terms, later reelected in 2010 and 2016.
- Date of birth: 1965-10-02
- Born February 19, 1962, Cleveland, Ohio.
- Her judicial work included hearing cases in other appellate districts and in the Ohio Supreme Court.
- She was admitted to practice in Ohio state and federal courts, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court
- Taught at University of Toledo College of Law and Ursuline College She also served on numerous boards, including the Ohio Criminal Justice Recodification Committee, the Ohio Supreme Court’s Judicial College board, and Euclid’s Board of Planning and Zoning
- Birth place: Cleveland

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### remote hearing exhibits

Scope: statewide

Ohio's statewide virtual-court guidance tells courts to include instructions for submitting exhibits or notifying the court of witnesses when remote-hearing information is sent to participants.

Evidence excerpt: Instructions for submitting exhibits or notifying the court of witnesses.

[Virtual Public Access to Ohio Court Proceedings](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/virtual-court/)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### remote hearing ground rules

Scope: statewide

Ohio's statewide virtual-court guidance recommends advance ground rules for documents, exhibits, screen sharing, and pre-marking exhibits for remote hearings.

Evidence excerpt: Documents: Share any documents/exhibits that will be reviewed in advance. Use the share screen function while documents are being discussed during the hearing. Request that the documents are pre-marked for exhibit purposes.

[Virtual Public Access to Ohio Court Proceedings](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/virtual-court/)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### remote recording

Scope: statewide

Ohio's statewide virtual-court guidance states that litigants, attorneys, and the public should be instructed not to record the hearing.

Evidence excerpt: The court should instruct the litigants, attorneys, and the public to not record the hearing.

[Virtual Public Access to Ohio Court Proceedings](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/virtual-court/)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8138/melody-j-stewart/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8138/melody-j-stewart/)
- [Ohio Court of Appeals current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8138/melody-j-stewart/)
- [Virtual Public Access to Ohio Court Proceedings](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/virtual-court/)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8138/melody-j-stewart/)
- [Melody J. Stewart » Supreme Court of Ohio](https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/judicial-system/supreme-court-of-ohio/justices-overview/melody-stewart)
- [Melody Stewart](https://ballotpedia.org/Melody_Stewart)
- [Wikidata: Melody J. Stewart](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60199954)

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