John J. Russo is the Administrative and Presiding Judge of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. Unanimously elected by his colleagues to lead the Court every year since November 2013, Judge Russo has chaired or participated in numerous justice system boards and committees since beginning his judicial career on the Common Pleas Court in 2005. In 2016, Judge Russo served as president of the National Association for Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers (NAPCO) and brought the inaugural annual NAPCO conference to Cleveland. Judge Russo has taught at numerous court conclaves, judges’ conferences, community programs, and bar association forums. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Bar Association, Westshore Bar Association, and the Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association. Prior to the bench, Judge Russo was a civil and criminal litigator for 12 years in his private practice. Judge Russo earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree at John Carroll University and his Juris Doctor degree at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Judge Russo is an Honorary Trustee of the Cleveland State University Law Alumni Association and an Adjunct Faculty member at Cleveland State University College of Law.