The Honorable Eve Belfance

Judge Belfance is a native of Akron, Ohio. She attended the Akron public schools, including King Elementary School, Litchfield Junior High School and Firestone High School.  Judge Belfance graduated from Yale University in 1984.  In 1990, she graduated cum laude from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where she served on the Law Review.

Judge Belfance began her legal career at the firm of Calfee, Halter & Griswold in Cleveland. She later practiced law in the firm of Kathryn A. Belfance & Associates. Because Judge Belfance was engaged in the appellate practice early in her career, appellate law quickly became her preferred area of the law. Judge Belfance has successfully argued appeals in both state and federal court. Judge Belfance has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Cleveland- Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University.  In 1998, Judge Belfance was selected to serve as a federal judicial attorney in Washington, D.C.

Judge Belfance was elected judge in the Akron Municipal Court in 2005 and re-elected in 2007. As a trial court judge, Judge Belfance handled hundreds of cases, both civil and criminal, conducting both jury trials and bench trials.  During her tenure with the Akron Municipal Court, Judge Belfance played a central role in the development of the Akron Municipal Court’s DUI court, and has presided over the DUI court.

Judge Belfance currently serves on the steering committee of the Ohio Judicial Conference Library of Reasoned Orders and the Ohio Judicial Conference Specialized Courts Committee. She is very active in the community and routinely volunteers her time for many civic organizations. She currently serves on the board of the Women’s Endowment Fund, the Akron Bar Association Foundation, and is an honorary board member of the Crown Point Ecology Center. Judge Belfance is a member of the Scanlon Inn of Court, the Humane Society of the United States, the Wayne County Humane Society, as well as a supporter of the Humane Society of Greater Akron.  Judge Belfance has also been active in the Women’s Network and the PTA. She is also a member of the Akron, Lorain County, Medina County, Wayne County, and Ohio State Bar Associations.  Judge Belfance is a member of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Akron.