James Patrick Celebrezze (February 6, 1938 – February 10, 2021) was an American politician and jurist of the Ohio Democratic party, who served as a judge of the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, common pleas court (domestic relations division). His daughter, Leslie Celebrezze, was elected to fill his seat after his retirement.

James Celebrezze
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
from the 4th district
In office
January 3, 1967 – December 31, 1974
Preceded byAt-Large District
Succeeded byRocco Colonna
Personal details
Born(1938-02-06)February 6, 1938
Cleveland, Ohio[1][2]
DiedFebruary 10, 2021(2021-02-10) (aged 83)
Cleveland, Ohio
Political partyDemocratic

Celebrezze served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1963 to 1973 and was a Democrat.[3]

Celebrezze was elected a judge of the Ohio Supreme Court in 1982,[4] defeating Republican Blanche Krupansky. He was defeated in his bid for re-election in 1984[5] by J. Craig Wright. His campaign was negatively affected by charges made against the chief justice, Celebrezze's brother Frank Celebrezze.

Celebrezze was the son of Mary Carmella Delsander and Cleveland politician Frank D. Celebrezze I, the nephew of former Johnson cabinet member Anthony Celebrezze, the first cousin of former gubernatorial candidate Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr., the brother of Ohio Chief Justice Frank Celebrezze, the uncle of Ohio appeals court Judge Frank D. Celebrezze Jr., and the first cousin once removed of Anthony J. Celebrezze III.

Two of Celebrezze's three children have recently begun their political careers: daughter Leslie Ann Celebrezze, formerly a Magistrate for Cleveland Municipal Court, is now a judge on the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations bench. His youngest son, Nicholas J. Celebrezze, served as a Councilman in the city of Parma, Ohio and served as the State Representative from the 15th District in the Ohio House of Representatives. Nick Celebrezze and his father worked together as practicing attorneys in the Celebrezze Group, LLC. His first son, James Celebrezze, currently is employed at a Pittsburgh hospital as head colorectal surgeon.

Celebrezze graduated from Ohio State University and Cleveland–Marshall College of Law. He served in the United States Naval Reserve as a military judge and was commissioned a commander. He died on February 10, 2021, in Cleveland, Ohio, at age 83, four days after his birthday.[6][7][3]

References edit

  1. ^ "James Patrick Celebrezze". Supreme Court of Ohio. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  2. ^ Marquis Who's Who, LLC (1984). "James Celebrezze". Who's Who in the Midwest, 1984-1985. Marquis Who's Who. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-8379-0719-2.
  3. ^ a b "Ex-Justice James Celebrezze dies at 83; served with brother". AP News. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  4. ^ Lamis, Alexander P.; Sharkey, Mary Anne (1994-10-01). Ohio politics. Kent State University Press. pp. 292–. ISBN 978-0-87338-509-1. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  5. ^ Lamb, Chris (2004). Drawn to extremes: the use and abuse of editorial cartoons. Columbia University Press. pp. 186–. ISBN 978-0-231-13067-7. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  6. ^ "James Celebrezze Obituary - (1938 - 2021) - Cleveland, OH". Obits.cleveland.com. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  7. ^ "A resolution in memory of the Honorable James Patrick Celebrezze. H. R. No. 59, 134th General Assembly, Regular Session, 2021-2022". Ohio General Assembly. 2021-05-12. Archived from the original on 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2021-07-14.