This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project - Cleveland , a nonprofit news team covering Ohio’s criminal justice systems.

In April 2023, Georgeanna Semary did something she’d done for 14 years as a top aide to Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze: She fulfilled a reporter’s request for public records.

This time was different. Releasing the court records led to Semary being demoted and losing thousands of dollars in pay, she said.

A lawsuit against Celebrezze and other court officials soon followed.

Semary alleged that the demotion amounted to retaliation and witness intimidation for providing The Marshall Project - Cleveland with billing invoices involving Mark Dottore, Celebrezze’s longtime friend whom she’d repeatedly appointe

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