Every voter should want independence and integrity from their Judges. Every voter should want their Judges to decide the case solely on the law and to uphold and apply the Constitution without regard to any outside influence.
However, most voters know very little about Judges.
I have been your Judge on the Court of Appeals for a year now and will be on the ballot in 13 counties to keep my position on November 8, so I would like to tell you a little about myself and the Court on which I am serving.
I encourage voters to look at Experience, Reputation, and Independence.
First, Experience matters, and it is not just the years of being an attorney, but actual courtroom experience that matters for a Judge on the Court of Appeals. I have tried more jury trials than 90% of the attorneys in the Commonwealth. When I became an attorney in 1984, there were not a lot of women doing what I was doing or what I am doing now as your Judge – in fact, judicial robes did not even come in women’s sizes. I loved presenting a case to a jury, because I do have a lot of faith in our jury system. I also got to appear before and learn from some excellent judges.
In addition, I also have experience in THIS Court, a Court that reviews cases that have been appealed across the entire Commonwealth. I have been doing the job well for the past year, but I also have the experience of working for this same Court for seven years right out of law school as staff attorney for my hero, Judge Judy West. She was the first woman to serve on this Court. When Judge West died in 1991, I went into private practice with a large firm in Cincinnati, then a midsized firm in Edgewood. I am admitted as an attorney in Kentucky, Ohio, and even before the U.S. Supreme Court.
My husband of 38 years, Bob Cetrulo, and I started our own small business in 2001. That was a real leap of faith with three small children at home, but we were successful and the firm grew with lots of hard work. We represented hundreds of clients over the years and did a lot of good for a lot of good people.
Last year, when Judge Joy Kramer decided to retire before her term ended, I was in a position to leave my firm and return to the Court that I loved so much. I was selected among 15 applicants by a bi-partisan statewide committee and then appointed by the Governor. It was truly a full circle moment for me to have this opportunity.
That prior experience with the Court allowed me to hit the ground running as your Judge, and I have stayed current on my cases, despite the large volume and wide variety of legal issues addressed by this Court. That caseload includes multiple appeals every month from family court decisions. Again, throughout my practice, I had an extensive background in family and adoption law, having handled over 350 adoptions over my career. That has been very helpful on this appellate court level. Similarly, organization, efficiency and expediency are very important and have always been hallmarks of my career.
Finally, I am a certified mediator. On this Court, each judge has to confer with two other judges every month to reach a decision. It is important to have the skills to work together with different personalities and backgrounds and my training and demeanor have served me well in that regard.
Experience truly does matter.
Similarly, Reputation matters. You should judge a Judge by considering who other attorneys and Judges recommend. I have support from over 450 practicing attorneys, retired Judges and Clerks, and I was recommended by the Northern Kentuckians for the Judiciary (nkfj.org).
I have a reputation for treating other attorneys with respect even though we may have been on different sides of the fight. I have the ability to recognize that there are two sides to every case as a trained mediator. Even attorneys I previously had cases against and attorneys who previously employed my opponent are supporting me because they know I have the demeanor, the compassion, the work ethic, and integrity to do this job well.
I was honored to be chosen by my peers last year as the Most Distinguished Lawyer in Northern Kentucky.
I have always been involved with the Northern Kentucky Bar Association which is a large group of attorneys who provide continuing education, public service to our community and support to other members of the legal profession. I have served on boards and with my children’s schools and my church and nonprofit agencies all across Northern Kentucky. I love this community and have always tried to give back through volunteering and mentoring because of the great mentors that I have had in my life. I have been a teacher to college students, a lecturer to lawyers, and a trainer of foster and adoptive parents, as an adoptive mom myself.
Reputation matters, so talk to other attorneys, County Attorneys, and Commonwealth’s Attorneys across these 13 counties. Talk to clerks and deputies in the courthouses and to retired judges because they are the most familiar with the attorneys who appear before them.
I am also proud to have the support of multiple labor unions and the statewide Endorsement of the FOP. I completely support law enforcement and all of our first responders.
And finally, Independence matters. It is not the job of the Appeals Court to make new law, but simply to follow and uphold the law as established by your Legislature and the Supreme Court.
Voters elect legislators to represent their values and beliefs and that is appropriate, but voters should want Judges who will follow the rules, uphold the Constitution, and apply justice fairly and with impartiality to all.
I have appeared before many great Judges in my long career across the state and especially here in Northern Kentucky. I seldom knew the political party of any of them and was never concerned with that. Judicial races are non-partisan according to our Constitution. If we don’t have judicial independence, the public will lose faith in the judicial system.
Independence Matters, and I will continue to be independent and conscientious in my work on the Court.
I am a wife, a mother, a grandmother (with a third on the way, due on Election day in November!) and a public servant. I am here solely to give back to the Court and to bring my knowledge, experience, and respect for the law to this position. While we have some excellent politicians in the area, I never wanted to be a politician, and I firmly believe that Judges should not be political. I am not and that is why I am supported by Republicans, Democrats, and Independents across the district.
I have been honored to serve on the Court of Appeals as your Judge and I am asking for your vote to keep me there on or before November 8.
If you have questions, please email me at susannecetrulo@gmail.com. I will try to respond to the extent that I am permitted to do so within the judicial ethics and canons that govern me as a sitting Judge.