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Republicans critical of criminal justice reforms are sweeping Ohio Supreme Court races

Republicans, including two who have recently expressed opposition to criminal justice reform, won Ohio Supreme Court races by wide margins on Tuesday as voter turnout fell in Cleveland and other major cities, according to preliminary status results of the 2024 elections.

With strong support in Ohio for former President Donald Trump, Republicans will now hold six of seven seats on a court that decides constitutional appeals and precedent-setting cases. In January, Jennifer Brunner, a former Ohio secretary of state and appellate judge, will be the only Democrat on a judgeless court in Cuyahoga County. Brunner will be up for re-election in 2026 when Republicans mark 40 years Ohio Supreme Court ruling.

2023 appointee Joe Deters, a career Cincinnati prosecutor and the first in decades to join the high court with without experience as a judgedefeated incumbent Justice Melody Stewart, a Democrat. In doing so, Deters vacated his own seat, which fellow Republican Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Daniel Hawkins secured with a win over 8th District Court of Appeals Judge and Democrat Lisa Forbes. In the third high court race of the year, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan, a Republican, unseated Judge 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 percent of the ballots cast and counted so far. Brunner and Hawkins are from Franklin County. The other five judges practiced law or reside in Greater Cincinnati.

Shanahan, along with Judge Pat Fischer, editorialized in support of a 2023 constitutional ballot initiative that dealt a blow to bail reform advocates. Deters, in his first year on the Ohio Supreme Court, wrote the majority opinion upholding the constitutionality of the Reagan Tokes Act, a 2018 measure that allows prison administrators to add time for incarcerated people who break the rules.

Even in the unlikely event that every provisional and outstanding ballot is counted, potential voter turnout in Democratic-heavy Cuyahoga County would total just 67 percent — 2 to 4 percentage points above the general election turnout from 2016 and 2020, respectively. Cuyahoga County, along with Franklin and Lucas, is among only seven counties with no chance of reaching 70 percent voter turnout in 2024.

For details on Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judicial races, check out our updated guide.

– Doug Livingston

Judge Celebrezze denies allegations of wrongdoing, faces disciplinary hearing in January

Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze filed it multiple count responses of misconduct, claiming he steered lucrative divorce cases to a personal friend, Ohio disciplinary board records show.

A three-member panel will now be conducting a disciplinary hearing and make a recommendation to the Professional Conduct Board as to whether a breach has occurred.

Celebrezze is scheduled to face the panel Jan. 30-31 in Columbus.

The three misdemeanor charges, originally filed Sept. 26 in Ohio Supreme Court, come 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 receivers.

Ohio Disciplinary Counsel alleges in the complaint that Celebrezze “revealed to at least two of her fellow judges that she was in love with Dottore and that she had consulted with lawyers to obtain 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 trust and avoiding the appearance of impropriety.

In her Oct. 30 response to the disciplinary counsel, Celebrezze admits that she “revealed to her fellow judges that … she loved Dottore,” but not “in a romantic way.” She denied having an inappropriate relationship.

Celebrezze did not respond to a request for comment.

Highland County Judge Rocky A. Coss is slated to preside over the disciplinary panel, which also includes the Columbiana County District Attorney Vito J. Abruzzino and lawyer Margaret M. Murrayconformable 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 year 216

• Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, a Republican who gained national attention for his comments about Kamala Harris’s constituents, was re-elected. WEWS News5
• A jury has convicted a former Columbus police officer of murder in the 2020 shooting death of 47-year-old Andre Hill. Columbus’ dispatch
• A Cleveland police commander has floated the idea of ​​offering cash incentives to push patrol officers to issue more traffic tickets. WEWS News5
• An Ohio appeals court heard oral arguments on a school district’s policy that allows students to use the restroom that matches their gender identity. Ohio Capital Journal