Announcement today from the governor's office ...

Gov. Ted Strickland has appointed Michelle D. Earley to the Cleveland Municipal Court.

“Michelle will be a tireless advocate for the citizens of Cleveland,” Strickland said in a news release. “I am confident that Michelle will bring the innovative thinking that she demonstrated in the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office to the Municipal Court, and make the court more accessible and efficient.”

Michelle D. Earley, 35, of Cleveland, fills the seat vacated by the election of Judge Larry Jones to the 8th District Court.

Earley will take the bench on April 20. To retain the seat, she must run in the November 2009 judicial election.

Earley has served as the grand jury supervisor for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office since 2006. She had previously served the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office as an assistant prosecuting attorney from 2000-2007.

“I am grateful to the Governor for granting me the opportunity to serve and I look forward to administering justice in a fair and thoughtful way on behalf of the citizens of Cleveland,” Earley said.

Earley received a bachelor of science degree in Information Systems from the Ohio State University in 1996 and a law degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1999.

-- John Arthur Hutchison