55, one of the Common Pleas court's longest-serving members, appointed in 1991 and re-elected ever since. A Republican, Sutula previously worked as an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor and served more than a decade as an assistant U.S. attorney.

Laura Gallagher,

47, an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor making her third bid for a judgeship. She has more than 20 years' experience in government, including stints as court administrator, magistrate and assistant prosecutor in Medina County.

OUR VIEW:

Sutula has been dubbed a criminal's worst nightmare. And she rightly has little tolerance for unprepared or underinformed lawyers. The judge's no-nonsense style doesn't always serve her well, but she is a smart, diligent jurist with a keen understanding of the law. Gallagher has the talent to be a good judge, but her presence in this race is tainted by evidence that she was encouraged to run by her boss, County Prosecutor Bill Mason, solely for the purpose of helping another candidate in the Democratic primary. Sutula's record on the General Division bench argues convincingly for her election to a six-year term at Probate.