Ohio Court of Common Pleas

Upon her 2007 appointment to the bench, Wiseman became the first openly gay judge in the history of the state of Ohio.^[4]

During her first year as a judge, Wiseman presided over the high-profile trial of China P. Arnold, a mother found guilty of burning her month-old baby to death in a microwave oven. Wiseman sentenced Arnold to life in prison without the possibility of parole.^[5][6]

Wiseman sought election to the post in 2008. She looked set to face a challenge in the Democratic primary from District Court judge [[, but he withdrew in January 2008 following a controversy over allegedly homophobic comments he had made during the campaign.^[7][8] She faced Margaret M. Quinn, a Republican but ended up winning by 53% to 47%.^[9]

Wiseman is admitted to the bar in Ohio, Arkansas, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Sixth Circuit, Seventh Circuit, Eighth Circuit and Ninth Circuit, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States.^[10] She is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.^[11]

Consideration for federal judicial nomination

In 2009, Wiseman was shortlisted for a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.^[12] Ohio's two U.S. Senators – Sherrod Brown (D–Lorain) and George Voinovich (R–Cleveland) – convened a bipartisan commission to recommend candidates for the vacancy, with Wiseman emerging as one of three finalists. In July 2009, Brown and Voinovich recommended U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Black to Barack Obama for appointment to the seat.^[13]