Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Approves New Administrative Judge Amid Turmoil Surrounding Leslie Celebrezze

Judge Leslie Celebrezze Credit: Courtesy Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court

Leslie Celebrezze will no longer serve as the Administrative Judge for the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court come January 1 when her current two-year term expires, the court announced Wednesday afternoon.

Judge Diane Palos, currently a member of the five-seat bench, was this week nominated and approved to take over the powerful role, which she previously held from 2010 through 2015.

A filing by the court shows the vote was 3-0 to approve Palos, with two judges —Judge Francine Goldberg and Judge Colleen Reali — abstaining.

Goldberg and Reali earlier this year asked Celebrezze to resign as Administrative Judge following a string of reports from The Marshall Project – Cleveland detailing how Celebrezze had approved a half million dollars in receivership work for Mark Dottore, her longtime friend, and fallout from the news.

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy this summer removed Celebrezze from a high-profile divorce after finding she improperly assigned herself the case against court policy following the recusal of another judge. Dottore was appointed as receiver in the lucrative divorce battle.
One of the parties in that case this year hired a private investigator to find evidence of what he thought was judicial bias. The PI’s reports included allegations that Celebrezze was in a romantic relationship with Dottore.
Meanwhile, Celebrezze’s former assistant has sued the judge alleging that she was demoted and given a pay cut after providing records to The Marshall Project – Cleveland, whose reporting “raised questions over whether the judge usurped case assignment policy to drive lucrative cases to her friend.”
The FBI has conducted interviews with some parties connected to the case and judge, The Marshall Project – Cleveland has reported.

In one letter to Celebrezze dated Sept. 12, Judges Goldberg and Reali wrote: “Our judiciary must zealously protect its role as a fair, impartial, and ethical tribunal to maintain the public trust and the administrative judge to administer specific duties… Given the allegations, your resignation as administrative judge would restore and promote the integrity of the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court.”

The court’s press release this week doesn’t address any of the issues surrounding the embattled judge, instead simply saying that Celebrezze “decided to turn her focus to Court projects, including her new program addressing domestic violence, the Parenting After Violence (PAVE) Program.”

Celebrezze didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment but in a statement included in the release said: “When I began serving as Administrative Judge in 2018, my priority was to ensure that all aspects of Domestic Relations Court ran as efficiently as possible in an effort to improve the experience of our litigants and the community we serve. Under my leadership, the Court expanded access to justice through creation of the Navigation Services Help Center and enhanced the availability of technology for litigants including text notifications, e-Notary pilot, Online Dispute Resolution pilot, and the soon to be released Virtual Help Center, providing 24/7 online assistance with forms and documents.

“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as Administrative Judge the past six years and look forward to the advancements the Court will make under Judge Palos’ tenure,” she concluded.