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. Ethics Complaint v. Judge Paula Christine Giulitto

Attorney Reg. No. 59162

Admission Date: 11/09/1992

PortageCountyCourt of Common Pleas

20 West Main Street

Ravenna, Ohio 44266-2778

Dear Mr. Caligiu:

The following complaint deals with Judge Giulitto’s years-long violation of Ohio criminal law dealing with Nepotism. The facts set forth below demonstrate that Judge Paula Giulitto not only violated the Nepotism laws, but also violated her oath of office and the Code of Judicial Conduct.

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

Violation of Nepotism Laws

As I suspect you know, under Ohio Ethics Law, the crime of nepotism is a fourth-degree felony, which can lead to a prison sentence of 6 to 18 months and a $5,000.00 fine.

The law states that Public officials (Judge Paula Giulitto) cannot give to their family members or solicit or use their positions to secure for their family members, raises, promotions, job advancements, overtime pay or assignments (her father Joseph as assignee) favorable performance evaluations, or any other things of value related to their employment.

As a direct consequence of Paula’s multiple assignments of her father Joseph, 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.

Rule 4: Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio

The Rules of Superintendence rules as set forth below are promulgated pursuant to Article IV, Section 5(A)(1) of the Ohio Constitution. Put simply, they are mandatory and not subject to the whims of the Chief Justice. Paula was the sole and only official in the Portage County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division who possessed the “constitutional” authority to assign her Father Joseph to specific cases for eleven years, all of which were in direct contravention of Ohio Nepotism laws.

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

Paula requested and received a total of 46 general 3-month assignments from Chief Justice O’Connor, which led to her being in the position to assign him to an unknown number of specific cases covering a period of one-hundred-thirty-eight (138) consecutive months from the date she assumed her judgeship in January 2011 through March 2022, thereby providing her father with a steady income stream during said time.

The 46 general assignments of her father Joseph are detailed on the Supreme Court website as follows.

Requesting Judge:Paula Giulitto

Assigned Judge: Joseph Giulitto

Court:Portage County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division

Assignment type:General

Dates:All assignments were for 3-months

It would be quite humorous to say the least for Paula to feign ignorance of the nepotism laws while engaged in an eleven years long violation of said laws. Put simply, ignorance of the law is not and surely should not be a valid defense for anyone, especially judges.

Please provide me with Judge Paula Giulitto’s entire respond to this complaint.

Dave Palmer

Folsom, California 95630