Frank Celebrezze won a six-year term on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in 1964 and reelection followed. From 1972-1986, he served on the Supreme Court of Ohio, where he sought to push beyond the Court’s traditional interpretation of Ohio’s Constitution. Under Celebrezze, the Supreme Court expanded workers’ ability to seek compensation under Ohio’s system by allowing them to seek benefits for emotional injury or injuries due to performing repetitive tasks over time. During his tenure as Chief Justice, the Supreme Court also limited the principle that local governments had sovereign immunity that protected them from civil lawsuits by injured constituents. Two majority opinions written by Celebrezze concern the 1981 enactment of the Ohio death penalty statutes; the opinions cover the first two death penalty cases brought on appeal to the Supreme Court.