Governor DeWine Appoints Hawkins to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - Ohio Governor Mike DeWine today announced the appointment of Pamela Hawkins to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division. Hawkins, of Highland Heights, will assume office on May 4, 2026, and will take the seat formerly held by Judge Leslie Celebrezze, who resigned. She will serve the remainder of the unfinished term and must run for election in November 2026 to retain the seat.
Hawkins began her law career in 2001 as a Samuel H. and Maria Miller Pro Bono Fellowship Recipient, working with Applewood Centers' Juvenile Court Shelter Care Program before beginning work as a law clerk for Uhinger, Keis & George. In 2003, Hawkins joined Litigation Management, Inc. as a litigation support specialist. In 2010, Hawkins served as an assistant prosecutor in the Children and Family Services unit at the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office. While working with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, Hawkins also started her own private practice, Pamela A. Hawkins, Esq.
In 1989, Hawkins received a bachelor's degree in child development and psychology from Harding University. In 1992, she received a Master of Education in curriculum and instruction for early childhood from Cleveland State University. In 1995, she received her Master of Science in Social Administration from the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. She received her juris doctor from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University in 2003.