Laurel Beatty Blunt | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
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Visiting faculty

Laurel Beatty Blunt

Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence

Judge Laurel Beatty Blunt is a Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. 

Judge Beatty Blunt started her legal career at Frost Brown Todd (formerly Frost & Jacobs) in Cincinnati, Ohio where she was a member of the litigation department, focusing primarily on commercial and diet drug defense litigation. Judge Beatty Blunt then returned to her hometown of Columbus and joined Kegler Brown Hill & Ritter where she was a member of the litigation, creditor’s rights and bankruptcy, and government affairs departments. Afterward she handled small business, probate, and personal injury matters for Otto Beatty, Jr. & Associates where she sat first and second chair in several trials.

Judge Beatty Blunt then served as Director of Legislative Affairs and Counsel to the Voting Rights Institute for the Ohio Secretary of State. In that role, Judge Beatty Blunt served as liaison to the Ohio General Assembly and 88 county boards of elections.  She also oversaw the drafting of legislation, obtained sponsors for bills, and provided testimony and information on bills pertaining to the Secretary of State’s office.

In 2009 Governor Ted Strickland appointed Judge Beatty Blunt to serve on the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. In that capacity, Judge Beatty Blunt has jurisdiction over felony criminal cases, administrative appeals, and civil matters in which the sum or matters in dispute exceed $15,000. She has presided over a variety of issues from sentencing on murder and rape case to multi-million-dollar civil litigation. Judge Beatty Blunt was overwhelmingly elected in November 2010, earning 68% of the vote in Franklin County and re-elected in 2016 to a second term. In November 2018, Judge Beatty Blunt was elected to the Tenth District Court of Appeals which hears appeals from the court on which she previously served, as well as appeals from the other divisions of the Franklin County Common Pleas- Probate, Domestic Relations, and Juvenile- in addition to appeals from the Franklin County Municipal Court, the Ohio Court of Claims, and various state administrative agencies.

Judge Beatty Blunt is currently a member of the Supreme Court of Ohio Board on Continuing Legal Education. She also serves on numerous law-related panels and is a member of the Ohio Women’s Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association, Columbus Bar Association, Women Lawyers of Franklin County, and John Mercer Langston Bar Association. Judge Beatty Blunt is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the YWCA of Central Ohio, the United Way of Central Ohio Board of Trustees and Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force.

Educational background

  • JD, Vanderbilt University Law School (1999)
  • BS in psychology, magna cum laude, Spelman College (1996)

Professional affiliations

  • Member, Supreme Court of Ohio Board on Continuing Legal Education
  • Member, Ohio Women’s Bar Association
  • Member, Ohio State Bar Association
  • Member, Columbus Bar Association
  • Member, Women Lawyers of Franklin County
  • Member, John Mercer Langston Bar Association.
  • Past member of: the Board of Trustees of the YWCA of Central Ohio, the United Way of Central Ohio Board of Trustees and Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force.
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