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Republicans critical of criminal justice reforms sweep Ohio Supreme Court races
Republicans, including two who’ve shown recent opposition to criminal justice reform, won Ohio Supreme Court races Tuesday by wide margins as turnout slumped in Cleveland and other major cities, according to preliminary state results of the 2024 election.
Riding strong support in Ohio for former President Donald Trump, Republicans will now hold six of seven seats on a court that decides constitutional and precedent-setting appellate cases. Come January, Jennifer Brunner, a former Ohio secretary of state and appellate judge, will be the lone Democrat on a court with no justices from Cuyahoga County. Brunner is up for reelection in 2026 when Republicans mark 40 years of Ohio Supreme Court dominance.
2023 appointee Joe Deters, a career prosecutor from Cincinnati and the first in decades to join the high court with no experience as a judge, defeated incumbent Justice Melody Stewart, a Democrat. In doing so, Deters vacated his own seat, which fellow Republican Daniel Hawkins, a Franklin County Common Pleas judge, secured with a win against 8th District Court of Appeals judge and Democrat Lisa Forbes. In the third high court race this year, Republican Megan Shanahan, a Hamilton County Common Pleas judge, unseated Justice Michael Donnelly, a Democrat and former Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge.
The three Republicans each lead in the state’s preliminary reporting by 500,000 to 600,000 votes, or more than 10% of ballots cast and counted so far. Brunner and Hawkins hail from Franklin County. The other five justices have all practiced law or live in Greater Cincinnati.
Shanahan, along with Justice Pat Fischer, editorialized in support of a 2023 constitutional ballot initiative that delivered a blow to advocates of bail reform. Deters, in his first year on the Ohio Supreme Court, wrote the majority opinion affirming the constitutionality of the Reagan Tokes law, a 2018 measure that allows prison administrators to add time for incarcerated people who break rules.
Even in the unlikely event that every provisional and outstanding absentee ballot is counted, potential turnout in Democratic-heavy Cuyahoga County would total only 67% — 2 to 4 percentage points shy of turnout in the 2016 and 2020 general elections, respectively. Cuyahoga County, along with Franklin and Lucas, are among only seven counties with no chance of hitting 70% turnout in 2024.
For details on the Common Pleas judicial races in Cuyahoga County, see our updated guide.
– Doug Livingston
Judge Celebrezze denies misconduct claims, faces a disciplinary hearing in January
Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze has filed her responses to multiple counts of misconduct alleging she steered lucrative divorce cases to a personal friend, Ohio Disciplinary Counsel records show.
A three-member panel will now conduct a disciplinary hearing and make a recommendation to the Board of Professional Conduct as to whether a violation occurred.
Celebrezze is scheduled to face the panel on Jan. 30-31 in Columbus.
The three misconduct counts, originally filed Sept. 26 with the Ohio Supreme Court, came more than a year after The Marshall Project - Cleveland detailed how Celebrezze accepted several divorce cases and appointed her lifelong friend Mark Dottore and his company as receiver.
The Ohio Disciplinary Counsel alleges in the complaint that Celebrezze “disclosed to at least two of her fellow judges that she was in love with Dottore, and that she had consulted with attorneys about getting a divorce from her husband.” She is also accused of making a false statement during the investigation and violating multiple rules of judicial and professional conduct relating to public confidence and avoiding the appearance of impropriety.
In her Oct. 30 response to the Disciplinary Counsel, Celebrezze admits that “she disclosed to her fellow judges that … she loves Dottore,” but not “in a romantic manner.” She denied having an inappropriate relationship.
Celebrezze did not respond to a request for comment.
Highland County Judge Rocky A. Coss is slated to chair the disciplinary panel, which also includes Columbiana County Prosecutor Vito J. Abruzzino and attorney Margaret M. Murray, according to Disciplinary Counsel records.
If the Board of Professional Conduct agrees with the three-member panel, it will then make a recommendation to the Ohio Supreme Court for an appropriate sanction.
For more details on the complaint against Celebrezze, read our story here.
– Mark Puente
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Around the 216
- Portage County’s Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, a Republican who drew national attention for his comments about Kamala Harris voters, was reelected. WEWS News5
- A jury convicted a former Columbus police officer of murder for the 2020 shooting death of 47-year-old Andre Hill. Columbus Dispatch
- A Cleveland police commander floated the idea of offering cash incentives to push patrol officers to issue more traffic tickets. WEWS News5
- An Ohio appellate court heard oral arguments over a school district’s policy that allows students to use the restroom that matches their gender identity. Ohio Capital Journal
