Frank D. Celebrezze Jr. (November 13, 1928 – March 21, 2010) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician and jurist of the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Democratic party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, having served as

Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court Bold indicates chief judge or chief justice. The Ohio Supreme Court was created by the Ohio Constitution of 1802 with three judges, and had three or four through 1851. In 1851, the number of judges was increased to five. In 1892, the number of jud ...

. He was elected as a judge of the Ohio Supreme Court in 1972, defeating Republican

Robert E. Leach Robert E. Leach (December 18, 1911 – November 21, 1993) was a United States Republican Party, Republican judge in the U.S. State of Ohio who sat as Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court in 1978. Biography Robert E. Leach was born December 18, ...

. He was re-elected in 1974, defeating Republican Sheldon A. Taft. Celebrezze also was elected to and served in the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

. In 1978, he was elected as Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, defeating Republican Thomas M. Herbert. Celebrezze was re-elected chief justice in 1980, defeating Sara J. Harper. 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 fierce, with Moyer's campaign accusing Celebrezze of having links to organized crime. That year Celebrezze brought a successful

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

suit against ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

'' of Cleveland, based on an article that alleged that Celebrezze's campaign had accepted contributions from groups with organized crime connections., 51. In 1994, Celebrezze ran for a seat on the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eighth District; he lost to common pleas court Judge

Terrence O'Donnell Terrence O'Donnell (born c. 1946) is a former associate justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Education He graduated in 1964 from St. Edward High School, an all-boys Catholic high school on Cleveland's west side. He did his undergraduate stud ...

. Celebrezze was the son of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

politician Frank D. Celebrezze I and the nephew of

Anthony Celebrezze Anthony Joseph Celebrezze Sr. (born Antonio Giuseppe Cilibrizzi, ; September 4, 1910 – October 29, 1998) was an American politician of the Democratic Party, who served as the 49th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as a cabinet member in the Kennedy an ...

, who served in the cabinets of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson as Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. His first cousin, Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr., was an elected official and candidate for Ohio governor. His brother, James P. Celebrezze, also served on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Celebrezze, Frank 1928 births 2010 deaths Ohio state court judges Chief Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court Democratic Party Ohio state senators Celebrezze family 20th-century American judges American people of Italian descent