Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon retires today from the Eighth District Court of Appeals in Cleveland where she has served since 1991. Judge Blackmon was the first female African American woman elected as a judge on the court of appeals in Ohio and has served five judicial terms.

Born in Mississippi, Judge Blackmon graduated from Tougaloo College magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in African-American Studies, Political Science, and History. She was recruited to attend Cleveland-Marshall College of Law by the late Judge Ann Aldrich, and received her law degree in 1975. With Cleveland as her home, Judge Blackmon served as a Chief Prosecutor for the City of Cleveland and the city’s first night prosecutor. Judge Blackmon also served as an Assistant Director of Victims/Witness Program and a Professor at Dyke College.