William G. Batchelder
Encyclopedia
William G. Batchelder, III (born July 30, 1943) is an American lawyer, judge
, and politician
from the U.S. state
of Ohio
. He is a Republican
.
He is the husband of Judge Alice Batchelder, currently a federal judge
on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
.
and grew up in the town, graduated from Medina High School
. He earned his undergraduate degree in history at Ohio Wesleyan University
and his J.D.
from the Ohio State University College of Law
. In law school
he was a member of the moot court
team.
while on active duty
with the United States Army
. He served in the office of the Judge Advocate General at the headquarters of the Third Army
in Fort McPherson
, Georgia
; he was honorably discharged in 1974.
Batchelder practiced law in Medina, Ohio for 31 years with the law firm of Williams & Batchelder. His practice focused on personal injury
defense litigation, corporate law
, probate
, and estate planning
.
Batchelder also served in the Ohio House of Representatives
for over 30 years, serving as chairman of the Joint Committee on Ethics and Vice-Chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee, as well as ranking member
at various times on the House Judiciary Committee and House Financial Institutions Committee. From 1995 to 1998, Batchelder served as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House and Vice-Chairman of the Reference and Rules Committee.
During the Savings and Loan Crisis
in the 1980s, Batchelder worked with Democratic
Governor Dick Celeste
to draft legislation to save depositors' savings at stricken Savings and loan association
s, causing Celeste to thank Batchelder during his State of the State speech. During the pay-to-play scandal of the mid 1990s, as chair of the Joint Committee on Ethics, Batchelder referred both the Republican President of the Ohio Senate
and the Democratic Ohio Speaker of the House to a prosecutor; both were convicted
. He is the only ethics committee chair ever to have referred the heads of both legislative chambers to a prosecutor.
appointed him to the Ninth District Ohio Court of Appeals. Batchelder was elected to the appellate bench in November 2000. He served as presiding judge from January 2000 to December 2001.
Batchelder has also been selected by the Supreme Court of Ohio
to serve on the Ohio Board of Bar Examiners. He is the recipient of the Ohio State Bar Public Service Award and an honorary graduate of the University of Akron School of Law
. Batchelder is currently a member of the Criminal Justice Advisory Board, Office of Criminal Justice Services, Ohio Court of Appeals Association and the Ohio, Akron, Lorain County, Medina County, and Wayne County Bar Associations. He has also served as an adjunct
professor of law at the University of Akron School of Law and at the College of Urban Affairs of Cleveland State University
.
In 2007, Batchelder was named chairman of the House Insurance Committee. He also serves on the Financial Institutions, Real Estate and Securities, Judiciary, and Public Utilities committees.
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, and politician
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
from the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He is a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
He is the husband of Judge Alice Batchelder, currently a federal judge
Federal judge
Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state / provincial / local level.-Brazil:In Brazil, federal judges of first instance are chosen exclusively by public contest...
on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Kentucky* Western District of Kentucky...
.
Early life and education
Batchelder was born in Medina, OhioMedina, Ohio
In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males...
and grew up in the town, graduated from Medina High School
Medina High School
Medina Senior High School is located in Medina, Ohio, USA. The school serves grades 9-12 and is the only high school in the Medina City School District as well as the only high school in the city...
. He earned his undergraduate degree in history at Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
and his J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the Ohio State University College of Law
Moritz College of Law
The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law is a public law school and charter member of the Association of American Law Schools. According to the 2010 U.S. News & World Report rankings, the Moritz College of Law is 35th in the nation overall and is in the top ten among public law schools. The...
. In law school
Law school in the United States
In the United States, a law school is an institution where students obtain a professional education in law after first obtaining an undergraduate degree.Law schools in the U.S...
he was a member of the moot court
Moot court
A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...
team.
Military service, legal career, and state House service
Batchelder was elected to the Ohio House of RepresentativesOhio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....
while on active duty
Active duty
Active duty refers to a full-time occupation as part of a military force, as opposed to reserve duty.-Pakistan:The Pakistan Armed Forces are one of the largest active service forces in the world with almost 610,000 full time personnel due to the complex and volatile nature of Pakistan's...
with the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. He served in the office of the Judge Advocate General at the headquarters of the Third Army
Third Army
A number of nations have had a Third Army* Third Army * Third Army * 3rd Army * Third Army * Third Army * 3rd Army * Third Army * United States Army Central...
in Fort McPherson
Fort McPherson
Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in East Point, Georgia, on the southwest edge of the City of Atlanta, Ga. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Army Forces Command; the U.S. Army Reserve Command; the U.S...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
; he was honorably discharged in 1974.
Batchelder practiced law in Medina, Ohio for 31 years with the law firm of Williams & Batchelder. His practice focused on personal injury
Personal injury
Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. The term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit alleging that the plaintiff's injury has been caused by the negligence of another, but also arises in defamation...
defense litigation, corporate law
Corporate law
Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...
, probate
Probate
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
, and estate planning
Estate planning
Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the disposal of an estate. Estate planning typically attempts to eliminate uncertainties over the administration of a probate and maximize the value of the estate by reducing taxes and other expenses...
.
Batchelder also served in the Ohio House of Representatives
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....
for over 30 years, serving as chairman of the Joint Committee on Ethics and Vice-Chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee, as well as ranking member
Ranking member
In United States politics, a ranking member is the second-most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the majority party. Another usage refers to the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. This second usage, often...
at various times on the House Judiciary Committee and House Financial Institutions Committee. From 1995 to 1998, Batchelder served as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House and Vice-Chairman of the Reference and Rules Committee.
During the Savings and Loan Crisis
Savings and Loan crisis
The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of about 747 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States...
in the 1980s, Batchelder worked with Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Governor Dick Celeste
Dick Celeste
Richard Frank "Dick" Celeste is an American politician from Ohio, and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as the 64th Governor of Ohio from 1983-1991.-Early life and career:...
to draft legislation to save depositors' savings at stricken Savings and loan association
Savings and loan association
A savings and loan association , also known as a thrift, is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loans...
s, causing Celeste to thank Batchelder during his State of the State speech. During the pay-to-play scandal of the mid 1990s, as chair of the Joint Committee on Ethics, Batchelder referred both the Republican President of the Ohio Senate
Ohio Senate
The Ohio State Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly, the legislative body for the U.S. state of Ohio. There are 33 State Senators. The state legislature meets in the state capital, Columbus. The President of the Senate presides over the body when in session, and is currently Tom...
and the Democratic Ohio Speaker of the House to a prosecutor; both were convicted
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
. He is the only ethics committee chair ever to have referred the heads of both legislative chambers to a prosecutor.
Judicial service
Batchelder was elected to the Medina County Court of Common Pleas and served briefly on that court before Governor Bob TaftBob Taft
Robert Alphonso "Bob" Taft II is an Ohio Republican Party politician. He was elected to two terms of office as the 67th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio between 1999-2007. After leaving office, Taft started working for the University of Dayton beginning August 15, 2007.-Personal background:Taft...
appointed him to the Ninth District Ohio Court of Appeals. Batchelder was elected to the appellate bench in November 2000. He served as presiding judge from January 2000 to December 2001.
Batchelder has also been selected by the Supreme Court of Ohio
Supreme Court of Ohio
The Supreme Court of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, each serving six-year terms...
to serve on the Ohio Board of Bar Examiners. He is the recipient of the Ohio State Bar Public Service Award and an honorary graduate of the University of Akron School of Law
University of Akron School of Law
The University of Akron School of Law is the law school at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, USA. Offering both the J.D. and LL.M. degrees, it was founded in 1921 as the Akron School of Law and merged with the University of Akron in 1959, becoming fully accredited by the American Bar...
. Batchelder is currently a member of the Criminal Justice Advisory Board, Office of Criminal Justice Services, Ohio Court of Appeals Association and the Ohio, Akron, Lorain County, Medina County, and Wayne County Bar Associations. He has also served as an adjunct
Adjunct
Adjunct may refer to:* Adjunct , words used as modifiers* Adjunct professor, a professor who does not hold a permanent position at a particular academic institution* Adjuncts, sources of sugar used in brewing...
professor of law at the University of Akron School of Law and at the College of Urban Affairs of Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University
Cleveland State University is a public university located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 when the state of Ohio assumed control of Fenn College, and it absorbed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1969...
.
Return to state House
After leaving the bench in 2005, Batchelder was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2006, defeating Jack Schira. http://www.boe.co.medina.oh.us:2000/results-1.htmIn 2007, Batchelder was named chairman of the House Insurance Committee. He also serves on the Financial Institutions, Real Estate and Securities, Judiciary, and Public Utilities committees.
External links
- William G. Batchelder official State House site
- Batchelder for Ohio campaign site
- William G. Batchelder's file at PolitiFact Ohio
- Profile at the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Ninth Appellate District
- William G. Batchelder, Jr. at Canada.lawyers.com
- William Batchelder collected news and commentary at The Plain Dealer