Frank Celebrezze
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Frank D. Celebrezze Sr. was an American politician and jurist of the Ohio Democratic party, having served as Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.
He was elected as a judge of the Ohio Supreme Court in 1972, defeating Republican Robert E. Leach. He was re-elected in 1974, defeating Republican Sheldon A. Taft.
In 1978, he was elected chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, defeating Republican Thomas M. Herbert. Celebrezze was re-elected chief justice in 1980, defeating Sara J. Harper.
Celebrezze had ambitions to run for governor of Ohio in 1982, but his campaign was plagued with scandals. In 1984 a local Ohio judge brought suit against Celebrezze, charging that Celebrezze had refused to give the judge certain appointments because the judge had advocated reforming the judicial selection system in Ohio.
In 1986, Celebrezze brought a libel suit against The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, based on an article that alleged that Celebrezze's campaign had accepted contributions from groups with organized crime connections. The lawsuit was eventually settled.
In 1986, Celebrezze was defeated in a bid for another term as chief justice by Thomas J. Moyer. The race between Celebrezze and Moyer was dirty, with Moyer's campaign accusing Celebrezze of having links to organized crime.
In 1994, Celebrezze ran for a seat on the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eighth District and lost to common please court Judge Terrence O'Donnell.
Celebrezze was the son of Cleveland politician Frank D. Celebrezze I and the nephew of Kennedy adminsitration cabinet member Anthony Celebrezze. His first cousin, Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr., was an elected official and candidate for Ohio governor. His brother, James Celebrezze, also served on the Ohio Supreme Court.
| Preceded by Robert E. Leach |
Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court 1978-1986 |
Succeeded by Thomas J. Moyer |
