Ron Suster

Ronald Joseph Suster (October 31, 1942 – January 15, 2024) was an American jurist and politician who served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1981 until 1995, and as a Common Pleas judge in Cuyahoga County from 1995 until 2012.

Early life and education Ronald Joseph Suster was born on October 31, 1942, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Joseph Suster Jr. (1909–1959) and Frances Pryatel (1906–1997). His grandparents and father were first-generation immigrants from Slovenia. He attended Villa Angela–St. Joseph High School, a Catholic college-preparatory school in North Collinwood, Cleveland, and was later inducted into its Hall of Fame in 1992.

Suster attended Western Reserve University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and economics in 1964. He then earned a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1967, and was elected to their Society of Benchers. He was an Assistant Law Director for the City of Cleveland, an Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, and a bar examiner for the state of Ohio. During his tenure in the House of Representatives, he served as chairman of four House committees: House Ethics (1983–84), Civil & Commercial Law (1985–86), Financial Institutions (1987–90), and Judiciary & Criminal Justice (1993–94). though he occasionally was assigned to adjudicate further cases. Among other notable cases, he presided over the 2000 wrongful imprisonment civil case regarding the late Dr. Sam Sheppard.

Suster was the Democratic candidate in the 1998 Ohio Supreme Court election. He received 781,103 votes, but lost to the incumbent Republican Paul Pfeifer (who received 1,947,916 votes).

Personal life and death Suster married Patricia Hocevar on July 19, 1974, at St. Paschal Baylon Parish in Highland Heights, Ohio. They have three children and seven grandchildren.

Ron Suster died on January 15, 2024, at the age of 81. He is buried at All Souls Cemetery in Chardon, Ohio.