Hon. Mary DeGenaro

Mary DeGenaro became the 159th justice of the Ohio Supreme Court by gubernatorial appointment, effective Jan. 28, 2018.

Justice DeGenaro served nearly 17 years as a judge on the Seventh District Court of Appeals in Youngstown prior to her Supreme Court appointment. The appointed term ends Jan. 1, 2019 for a seat up for election in November 2018.

During her tenure on the Seventh District Court of Appeals, which began Feb. 9, 2001, she sat by assignment with the Ohio Supreme Court and other appellate districts.

Justice DeGenaro has served in many roles outside the courtroom. She was an adjunct faculty member for the political science department at Youngstown State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree. She received her law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where she interned with U.S. District Judge George White.

She also was vice president of the Ohio Women’s Bar Association at the time of her Supreme Court appointment.

Admitted to the Ohio bar in 1986, she also was admitted to practice in the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and the Sixth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals.

Prior to her judgeship, she served on the Poland Village Council.

Justice DeGenaro was appointed by the late Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer to serve during 2002 and 2003 as a member of the Voter Education & Public Funding Working Group to further Judicial Impartiality: The Next Step Forum. This court-policy initiative addressed issues involving judicial races and preserving the integrity of Ohio’s judiciary.

In 2005, she began serving as a founding member of the Ohio State Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Specialty Certification Board, which administers the specialty bar examination and certification.

Involved in a variety of community organizations, Justice DeGenaro's service includes the board of trustees of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County and the Mahoning Valley Historical Society. Past service includes the external advisory committees for the Ohio Center for the Advancement of Women in Public Service at Cleveland State University, and Youngstown State University’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

Outside of her judicial duties, Justice DeGenaro enjoys reading and beekeeping. She and her husband, Steve, reside in Poland, Ohio. They have two adult sons.