OhioSupreme Court

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel

250 Civic Center Drive Suite 325

Columbus, Ohio

Attn: Joseph M. Caligiu – Disciplinary Counsel Chief

Re: Ethics complaint v. Retired Visiting Judge Joseph Giulitto

222 W. Main Street

Ravenna, OH 44266

Attorney Reg. No. 2809

The following complaint deals with Judge Giulitto’s conduct involving his years long (2011 thru 2022) acceptance of assignments by his daughter Paula to specific cases in the Domestic Relations Division of the Portage County Common Pleas Court. Put simply, this is a blatant example of Joseph knowingly and willingly conspiring with his daughter Paula to violate the nepotism laws for the sole purpose of unjustly and unlawfully enriching himself at the expense of the State and Portage County taxpayers. Put simply, Joseph is complicit in Paula’s serial violations of Ohio’s nepotism laws.

Code of Conduct violations

CANON 1:A judge should participate in establishing, maintaining, and enforcing high standards of conduct.

CANON 2:A Judge Shall Respect and Comply with the Law and Shall Act at all Times in a Manner that Promotes Public Confidence in the Integrity and Impartiality of the Judiciary. 

CANON 3:A Judge Shall Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in all of the Judge's Activities.

The Complicity Statute states as follows:

(A) No person, acting with the kind of culpability required for the commission of an offense [nepotism], shall do any of the follow:

(2) Aid or abet another in committing the offense [nepotism]

(F) Whoever violates this section is guilty of complicity in the commission of an offense and shall be prosecuted and punished as if he were a principal offender.

It would be laughable for Joseph to proclaim that he was unaware that Paula was his daughter. Furthermore, prior to his retirement on January 1, 2011, Joseph was the Administrative Judge for the Portage County Common Pleas Court, Domestic Relations Division. Joey was replaced in said judicial position by his daughter Paula on January 2, 2011.

Moreover, Joseph was intimately aware of his and Paula’s constitutional duties as Administrative Judges of the Portage County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Division pursuant to Rule 4: Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio, which states in relevant part as follows.

RULE 4.01: Powers and Duties of Administrative Judge

An administrative judge of a court or a division of a court shall do all of the following:

(A) Be responsible for and exercise control over the administration, docket, and

calendar of the court or division

(C) Pursuant to Sup.R. 36, assign cases to individual judges of the court or division or

to panels of judges of the court in the court of appeals

(H) Request, as necessary, the assignment of judges to the court or division by the Chief

Justice or the presiding judge of the court

Beginning on January 3, 2011, Joseph received his first assignment per Paula’s request from Chief Justice O’Connor and continued through December 2021 with an effective date of January thru March 2022. Chief Justice O’Connor personally granted 46 general 3-month assignment requests submitted by Paula as Administrative Judge for Portage County beginning on January 3, 2011 and continuing through June 30, 2021.

As a direct consequence of Joseph’s years long assignments compliments of his daughter, he earned well over $30,000 in wages from 2011 thru 2022. This figure does not include wages earned by Joseph via Paula’s assignments via the twenty (20) 3-month assignments from 2011 thru 2015. Therefore, the actual figure is likely more than $45,000.00.

Because said income was earned via the criminal conduct of his and his co-conspirators in violating the Nepotism and Complicity laws, Joseph must be made to reimburse the State of Ohio and Portage County for the nearly $50,000 in illegal earnings along with prejudgment interest of at least $18,000.00.

And lastly, at a minimum, action must be taken immediately to suspend Joseph’s law license, thereby preventing him from further pilfering state and county funds he surely is not lawfully entitled too.

Please provide me with a copy of Joseph’sentire response to my complaint.

David Palmer

Folsom, California