Gov. Mike DeWine last week appointed five lawyers, including former judges Wanda C. Jones and Kenneth R. Callahan, to fill vacancies on three courts in Cuyahoga County, including the Eighth District Court of Appeals, the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, and the Garfield Heights Municipal Court.
Callahan will take office on Dec. 15 on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas General Division, the same court he served from 1993 through 2009. He must win election in November 2022 to complete the unexpired term ending Jan. 3, 2027.
Callahan, of University Heights, most recently served of counsel for Mansour Gavin LPA for about one year. Prior to that position, he served as a litigation lawyer at Collins and Scanlon and at Buckley King LPA.
He received his law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and his undergraduate degree from John Carroll University.
Callahan’s appointment fills the vacancy left by the death in September of Judge Nancy McDonnell.
Former Judge Wanda C. Jones will take office Dec. 20, filling the vacancy on the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court General Division that was created by the passing of Judge Joseph D. Russo, who died in early October.
Jones previously served for two years in the same court division but left last December after losing election to keep the seat. She was appointed to the position by former Gov. John Kasich in December 2018.
She previously served as an assistant attorney general in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and as a principal at Axner & Jones LLP. She received her law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and her undergraduate degree from Ursuline College.
Jones, a Solon resident, must win election in November 2022 to complete the unexpired term, which ends Dec. 31, 2024.
Cornelius J. O’Sullivan of Lakewood will take office on the Eighth District Court of Appeals on Dec. 15. He fills the vacancy left by the October death of Judge Larry Jones.
During his legal career, he was a civil trial attorney, mediator, and arbitration chairman for Weston Hurd LLP, where he was a partner. He also was a senior litigation attorney and handled major cases for CNA Insurance for 15 years.
O’Sullivan received his law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and his undergraduate degree from John Carroll University.
O’Sullivan must win election in November 2022 to complete the unexpired term, which ends Feb. 9, 2027.
Mark R. Majer was appointed to the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court General Division, where he presently serves as a magistrate. He will take office Jan. 3, 2022, filling the vacancy that will occur when Judge Dick Ambrose retires December 31. Majer must win election in November 2022, to complete the term ending Jan. 6, 2023.
A magistrate since 2020, Majer served in the same role from 1999 to 2005. He also was chief legal counsel for the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court for five years and an assistant prosecutor in the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office for six years.
The Gates Mills resident received his law degree from Ohio Northern University’s Claude W. Pettit College of Law and his undergraduate degree from Bowling Green State University.
Brecksville city attorney Sergio I. DiGeronimo will take office on the Garfield Heights Municipal Court on Dec. 20, filling the vacancy created when former Judge Jennifer Weiler retired at the end of September.
DiGeronimo has served as the prosecutor and assistant law director for the City of Brecksville since 1998. He previously was an assistant to the City of Brecksville prosecutor.
He received his law degree from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Baldwin-Wallace College.
DiGeronimo must run for election in November 2023. If successful, he will begin a new full term in January 2024.
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