Francine Goldberg

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Francine Goldberg

Democratic Party

Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division

Tenure

Present officeholder

Term ends

2029

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

The Ohio State University, 1986

Law

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, 1990

Contact

Campaign website

Francine Goldberg (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division in Ohio. Her current term ends on January 12, 2029.

Goldberg (Nonpartisan, Democratic Party) ran for re-election for judge of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division in Ohio. Goldberg won in the general election on November 8, 2022. She advanced from the Democratic primary on May 3, 2022.

Goldberg completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Education

Goldberg received her undergraduate degree from the Ohio State University in 1986 and her J.D. degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1990.

Career

Goldberg has served as an assistant county prosecutor for Cuyahoga County since 1991. She also previously served as a councilwoman at-large and as a vice mayor for the City of University Heights.

Elections

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Cuyahoga County, Ohio (2022)

General election

General election for Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division

Incumbent Francine Goldberg won election in the general election for Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Francine Goldberg (Nonpartisan)	100.0	202,238

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 202,238
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division

Incumbent Francine Goldberg advanced from the Democratic primary for Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division on May 3, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Francine Goldberg	100.0	59,959

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 59,959
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Ohio local trial court judicial elections, 2016

Ohio held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on March 15, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was December 16, 2015.

General election

Incumbent Francine Goldberg defeated John Mayer in the general election.

Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas (Domestic Relations Division–Goldberg Seat), General Election, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Francine Goldberg Incumbent	65.45%	241,164
John Mayer	34.55%	127,313
Total Votes		368,477
Source: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "Election Results," accessed November 9, 2016

Primary election

Incumbent Francine Goldberg ran unopposed in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division Democratic primary election.

Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas (Domestic Relations Division–Goldberg Seat), Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Francine Goldberg Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	99,435
Total Votes		99,435
Source: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, "Election Results," accessed March 16, 2016

Selection method

See also: Nonpartisan election of judges

The 391 judges of the Ohio Courts of Common Pleas are all selected in an identical manner. Qualified individuals wishing to join the bench must participate in partisan primary elections followed by nonpartisan general elections.

The chief judges of the Ohio Courts of Common Pleas are chosen by peer vote and serve for one year.

Qualifications
To serve on an appellate or general jurisdiction court, a judge must be:

• a district or county resident (for court of appeals and common pleas judges);
• at least six years practiced in law; and
• under the age of 70.

Under the Ohio Constitution, a judge who reaches 70 years of age may be assigned by the chief justice to active duty, receiving payment on a per-day basis in addition to whatever retirement benefits he or she is entitled to.

2014

See also: Ohio judicial elections, 2014
Goldberg ran for election to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.
Primary: She was successful in the Democratic primary on May 6, 2014, receiving 72.2 percent of the vote. She competed against John McIntyre.
General: She defeated Janet Rath Colaluca in the general election on November 4, 2014, receiving 50.3 percent of the vote.  

Cleveland bar association ratings

According to the compiled results at Judge4Yourself.com, Goldberg received an average rating of 2.25 out of 4 by local Cleveland bar associations in 2014. Those break down as:

• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association: Adequate
• Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyers Association: Adequate
• Norman S. Minor Bar Association: Good
• Ohio Women's Bar Association: Adequate

2012

Goldberg ran for election to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Juvenile Division. She defeated Joseph F. Russo and William T. McGinty in the Democratic primary on March 6, winning 41.37 percent of the vote. Goldberg was defeated by Denise Nancy Rini in the general election on November 6, receiving 49.44 percent of the vote.

See also: Ohio judicial elections, 2012 - Courts of Common Pleas

Cleveland bar association ratings

According to the compiled results at

Judge4Yourself.com, Goldberg received a rating of 2.75 out of 4 by local Cleveland bar associations in 2012. Those break down as:

• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association: Adequate
• Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyers Association: Good
• Norman S. Minor Bar Association: Good
• Ohio Women's Bar Association: Good

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Francine Goldberg completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Goldberg's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

In my 7.5 years on the bench, I have resolved thousands of cases and maintained one of our Court's most successful dockets. I am dedicated to making our Court more family friendly and accessible. My approach to resolving cases that come before me is unique. I take a proactive approach to assist families in volatile, troubled times. At the initial pre-trial, I meet with attorneys and litigants because every case involves the important resolution of family issues. I encourage alternative dispute resolution strategies such as mediation and family evaluation services to help families. Early case resolution is my objective - which achieves closure and keeps costs down. To accomodate litigants who cannot travel to court, I have conducted hearings in parties' homes, nursing homes and at assisted living facilities. I have also established "The Wall of Happiness" - photos of litigants satisfied with the court process even in the divorce setting. We have over 500 photographs of happily divorced individuals. As a judge I saw the opportunity to adopt technological innovations as a way of improving the courtroom experience for litigants and lawyers. I led the efforts to develop CourtConnect, a free mobile app that provides the public with quick, easy 24/7 on-the-go access to court-related information. I served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for 24 years where I was the Director of the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and a member of the Major Trial Unit.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• As a judge, I took an oath that guides me every day when I put on my robe and sit on the bench. Many litigants from diverse backgrounds come before me. This may be the first time that many of them have been in a courthouse or before a judge. As a jurist, it is my responsibility, my duty, to fairly and impartially listen to the evidence and testimony that comes before me. Litigants put their trust, faith, and confidence in me. I will always be fair and impartial so that every litigant has meaningful access to the law. As a judge, I make decisions that have long lasting implications for families and children. I need to ensure that our system of justice is conducted with respect, honor, integrity and humility.
• Given that 60% of our cases involve one self-represented party, I believed that there was a compelling need to provide meaningful "access to justice" to all families that would be helpful and cost effective. I was instrumental in supporting the creation and success of the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Help Center, established in May, 2017. This is an innovative approach to provide free assistance to self-represented litigants with Divorce, Dissolution, Child Custody, Child Support and Post-Decree proceedings in order to guide parties' through court procedures. Thousands of families have been assisted which has resulted in increased litigant and court satisfaction, time and cost savings, and improvements in procedural fairness.
• As a judge I also saw the opportunity to adopt technological innovations as a way of improving the courtroom experience for litigants and lawyers. I led the efforts to develop CourtConnect, a free mobile app designed to connect litigants and lawyers to the Domestic Relations Court. CourtConnect, provides the public with quick, easy, 24/7 on-the-go access to court-related information through mobile devices. This form of cutting-edge technology is the first of its kind for a domestic relations court in Ohio. I believe this will be a prototype for other courts. It provides litigants with a simple, easy method to obtain important information about the status of their case and to make payments - whether child support or court costs.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Given that 60% of our cases involve one self-represented party, I believed that there was a compelling need to provide meaningful "access to justice" to all families that would be helpful and cost effective. Per the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Acess to Justice (ATJ) mission "to help the justice system efficiently deliver outcomes that are fair and accessible to all, irrespective of wealth and status." I was guided by ATJ's three priciples: promoting accessibility, ensuring fairness and increasing efficiency. With this mission in mind, I was instrumental in supporting the creation and success of the Domestic Relations Court Help Center, established in May, 2017. This is an innovative approach to provide free assistance to self-represented litigants with Divorce, Disslution, Child Custody, Child Support and Post-Decree proceedings in order to guide parties' through court procedures. Thousands of families have been assisted which has resulted in increased litigant and court satisfaction, time and cost savings, and improvments in procedural fairness. Litigant exit surveys have demonstrated that they "...have a sense that decisions are made through court processes that are fair..." and that they feel increased respect and trust in our Court.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Candidate

Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations Division

Website

Footnotes

Ohio courts

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Federal courts:

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio

State courts:

Ohio Supreme Court • Ohio District Courts of Appeal • Ohio Courts of Common Pleas • Ohio County Courts • Ohio Municipal Courts • Ohio Court of Claims

State resources:

Courts in Ohio • Ohio judicial elections • Judicial selection in Ohio