Susanne M. Cetrulo was sworn in as a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge at an investiture ceremony this week at the Boone County Justice Center in Burlington. Justice Michelle M. Keller, who serves Northern Kentucky on the Supreme Court of Kentucky, swore her in.
Court of Appeals and other judges were among those in attendance.
“It was such an honor to have so many judges I’ve appeared before and judges I am going to serve with come to the ceremony,” Judge Cetrulo said.
Judge Cetrulo is the newest Court of Appeals judge and was appointed by the governor Sept. 15 to serve the 6th Appellate District, Division 2, which is made up of the commonwealth’s 21 northernmost counties. She was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Judge Joy A. Kramer, who retired Sept. 1.
The judgeship brings Judge Cetrulo full circle, as her first law job was as a staff attorney for the Court of Appeals from 1984-1991, first for Chief Judge Charles Lester and then Judge Judy M. West.
She went on to spend 30 years in private practice and came to the Court of Appeals from the civil litigation law firm of Cetrulo, Mowery & Hicks, which she founded with her husband in 2000. Prior to establishing her own firm, Judge Cetrulo practiced with Kohnen Patton & Hunt in Cincinnati, where she focused on medical malpractice defense. She then became a partner with Ware Bryson West & Kummer in Edgewood.
In addition to practicing civil litigation in Kentucky and Ohio, she was an adoption attorney in both states for over 30 years. She has finalized placements for more than 350 children and she and her husband are adoptive parents.
Judge Cetrulo has been named one of the most prolific trial attorneys in Kentucky several times by the Kentucky Jury Verdict Reporter. She has presented on appellate advocacy and mediation skills at continuing legal education and new attorney events. She has also taught at the University of Cincinnati, authored several legal articles and presented at seminars on legal matters for the Kentucky and Ohio bar associations and several practice groups. She is a certified mediator and has performed mediations in Kentucky and Ohio, helping other attorneys resolve their client’s disputes.
She is on the scholarship committee for the Northern Kentucky Bar Association’s Judge Judy West Award. The association provides funds to a female student from Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law each year in honor of Judge Cetrulo’s mentor, Court of Appeals Judge Judy M. West, who passed away in 1991.
Judge Cetrulo is a co-founder of Cameron’s Cause, a nonprofit organization that places automated external defibrillator in Northern Kentucky schools and businesses to prevent sudden cardiac death.
She previously served as a board member and volunteer for the Northern Kentucky Bar Associations’ women lawyers and mentoring programs. She has volunteered with Josh Cares, KAREFarm, the Citizen Foster Care Review Board, Court Appointed Special Advocates, the Diocesan Children’s Home and Dixie Heights High School Band. She served as a board member and volunteer with the Women’s Crisis Center of Northern Kentucky, IMPACT 100 and Immanuel United Methodist Church in Lakeside Park.
Judge Cetrulo earned a juris doctor from Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Morehead State University.
