What led to Leslie Celebrezze’s indictment and suspension, and how Ohio’s courts responded in 2023–2026

A felony records case intersects with a broader ethics proceeding

Former Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze is facing a third-degree felony charge of tampering with records, an allegation centered on how a divorce-related case was assigned inside the court. The charge, filed by information in late December 2025, accused Celebrezze of submitting a journal entry dated January 19, 2023 that stated she had been randomly assigned to a case when, prosecutors allege, she manually assigned the matter to herself while serving as administrative judge.

Celebrezze resigned from the bench on December 22, 2025. At an arraignment on December 23, 2025, she pleaded not guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Under Ohio judicial governance rules, a judge is disqualified from acting while a felony indictment or information is pending; prosecutors stated the filing resulted in an immediate suspension from judicial duties.

Why case assignment matters in a multi-judge court

The indictment’s central claim involves the integrity of random case assignment, a safeguard designed to prevent “judge shopping” and ensure impartial distribution of cases. In disciplinary findings that later became public, Ohio’s high court concluded Celebrezze bypassed random assignment procedures and local rules in multiple instances, assigning cases to herself rather than allowing the standard process to operate.

A separate track: discipline for judicial conduct and conflicts

The criminal case unfolded against the backdrop of an ethics investigation that examined Celebrezze’s conduct on the bench over a period of years. In August 2025, the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct recommended a two-year suspension from the practice of law, with one year stayed, in a disciplinary case docketed at the Supreme Court of Ohio.

That discipline became final on January 13, 2026, when the Supreme Court of Ohio imposed a two-year suspension with one year stayed. The court found violations tied to self-assignment of cases and conflicts of interest. The decision also addressed her professional relationship with Mark Dottore, described in court records as a long-time friend and romantic interest. The court found that in some cases she appointed or recommended him as receiver or mediator and, in at least one matter, authorized payments totaling more than $400,000 in receiver fees and related attorney fees.

• Criminal allegation: a false journal entry about random assignment dated January 19, 2023.
• Resignation: December 22, 2025; not-guilty plea: December 23, 2025.
• Professional discipline: two-year law license suspension with one year stayed, ordered January 13, 2026.

Open questions now move to the trial court

As of early January 2026, court scheduling in the felony case remained in flux after a judge recused from the matter and a hearing was continued without a new date immediately set. The criminal charge remains pending, and the presumption of innocence applies unless and until the case is resolved in court.

The parallel proceedings — one criminal, one disciplinary — reflect distinct standards and goals: a criminal case tests guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, while attorney and judicial discipline evaluates conduct under professional rules and the need to protect public confidence in the courts.