Robert Cupp

Robert Cupp

Republican Party

Prior offices

Ohio Supreme Court

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Education

Bachelor's

Ohio Northern University, 1973

Law

Ohio Northern's Pettit College of Law, 1976

Robert R. Cupp was a justice on the Ohio Supreme Court. Cupp joined the court in 2006 and his term ended on January 1, 2013.

2012 election

Cupp ran for re-election to the court in 2012. He was defeated by William O'Neill in the general election on November 6, receiving 47.48% of the vote.

See also: Ohio judicial elections, 2012

Ohio State Bar Association ratings

In June and September, the Ohio State Bar Association rated Cupp as "Highly Recommended" according to eight criteria: legal knowledge and ability; professional competence; judicial temperament; integrity; diligence; health; personal responsibility; and public/community service.

Endorsements

• The Plain Dealer. To read the endorsement, see: The Plain Dealer, Editorial: "Plain Dealer endorses Ohio Supreme Court incumbents McGee Brown, Cupp and O'Donnell," October 20, 2012.
• The Columbus Dispatch. To read the endorsement, see: The Columbus Dispatch, "For Ohio Supreme Court," October 7, 2012.
• Toledo Blade. To read the endorsement, see: The Toledo Blade, "For Ohio Supreme Court," October 4, 2012.
• The Youngstown Vindicator. To read the endorsement, see: Vindy.com, "For the Ohio Supreme Court: McGee Brown, Cupp, O'Donnell," October 24, 2012.

Education

Cupp received his B.A. in political science from Ohio Northern University in 1973 and his law degree from Ohio Northern's Pettit College of Law in 1976.

Career

Prior to his election to the Ohio Supreme Court in November 2006, Robert R. Cupp served on the Ohio Third District Court of Appeals. Prior to becoming a judge, Cupp served 16 years as a member of the Ohio Senate, from 1985 to 2000.

Before his election to the legislature, Bob served as a Lima City Prosecutor and Assistant Director of Law from 1976 to 1980. He served as Allen County Commissioner from 1981 to 1984 and 2001 to 2002. He also engaged in the private practice of law from 1983 to 2002.

Awards and associations

• Distinguished Service Award, Ohio State Bar Association
• Robert E. Hughes Memorial Award, Ohio Association of Elected Officials
• Past president, Black Swamp Area Boy Scout Council
• Member, Lima County Rotary Club
• Board of trustees, Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association

Elections

2006

Cupp defeated opponent Ben Espy, winning 53.22% of the vote.

Campaign funding

From January 1 to October 4, 2006, Cupp raised twice as much ($777,426) as his opponent Ben Espy ($380,919). The Partnership for Ohio’s Future, the affiliate of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, raised $1,291,500 and spent $1,285,140 on “electioneering communication.” These television advertisements praised Robert Cupp and Terrence O'Donnell. More than 60% of money spent on these ads was contributed to the Partnership by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce ($165,000) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($634,000). Insurance companies contributed an additional $405,000.

For a full list of Judge Cupp's campaign contributions, visit Follow The Money.

Noteworthy cases

Arbino, 2007

The Ohio Supreme Court in December 2007 in Arbino v. Johnson & Johnson, upheld caps on damages in personal injury lawsuits in a 5-2 decision. The decision upheld a law approved by the legislature in 2004 that limited jury awards for pain and suffering, mental anguish and other non-economic damages to $350,000 unless the injured person lost a limb or bodily organ. The court also upheld a cap that limited punitive damages to twice the amount of damages awarded as compensation for injuries. Cupp agreed with the majority's opinion but wrote a separate concurrence.

Death penalty, 2008

Clifton White III, who killed the mothers of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend in 1995, cannot be executed because he is mentally retarded, the court ruled in an unanimous decision. The court said White qualifies under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2002 that it is a violation of the Eighth Amendment for governments to execute mentally challenged inmates.

"The mentally retarded are not necessarily devoid of all adaptive skills," wrote Cupp in the court's decision. "Indeed, they may look relatively normal in some areas and have certain significant limitations in other areas. Mildly retarded persons can play sports, write, hold jobs, and drive. In this case, the trial court failed to set forth any rational basis grounded in the evidence for rejecting the uncontradicted testimony of two qualified expert witnesses in the field of psychology."

Political ideology

See also: Political ideology of State Supreme Court Justices

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.

Cupp received a campaign finance score of 0.88, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of 0.62 that justices received in Ohio.

The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.

External links

• Ohio Supreme Court, Justice Robert R. Cupp
• Project Vote Smart, Justice Robert R. Cupp (OH)
• SalemNews.net, "Candidates: Supreme Court justices should honor state Constitution," October 21, 2012
• Toledo Blade, "Incumbent Cupp stresses his background, experience for Ohio Supreme Court," October 14, 2012
• Media Trackers, "Supreme Court Candidates Discuss Judicial Philosophy," October 8, 2012
• The-Daily-Record.com, "Incumbent justices talk about Supreme Court," March 26, 2012
• Business First, "Ohio Supreme Court OKs waiting period before maternity leave," June 22, 2010
• The Morning Journal, "Justice Robert Cupp meets students," April 21,2010 (dead link) (video)