Frank Celebrezze
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Frank D. Celebrezze 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 is the son of former Johnson cabinet member Anthony Celebrezze, the brother of former gubernatorial candidate Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. and fellow Ohio Supreme Court Judge James Celebrezze, the father of Ohio appeals court Judge Frank D. Celebrezze Jr., and the uncle of Anthony J. Celebrezze III. His uncle was Frank D. Celebrezze I.