United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (in case citations, N.D. Ohio) is the federal trial court for the northern half of Ohio, encompassing most territories north of the city of Columbus. The court has courthouses in Cleveland, Toledo, Akron and Youngstown.

United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
(N.D. Ohio)
Location	Carl B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse (Cleveland) More locations John F. Seiberling Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse (Akron) James M. Ashley and Thomas W.L. Ashley U.S. Courthouse (Toledo) Youngstown Lima
Appeals to	Sixth Circuit
Established	February 10, 1855
Judges	11
Chief Judge	Sara Elizabeth Lioi
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	Rebecca C. Lutzko
U.S. Marshal	Peter Elliott
www.ohnd.uscourts.gov

Appeals from this court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The United States Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Ohio represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. As of June 9, 2023^[update] the United States attorney, the district’s chief prosecutor, is Rebecca C. Lutzko.

History

The United States District Court for the District of Ohio was established on February 19, 1803, by 2 Stat. 201.^[1][2] The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on February 10, 1855, by 10 Stat. 604.^[2]

Divisions

The Northern District comprises two divisions.

Eastern Division

The Eastern Division comprises the counties of Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Holmes, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas and Wayne.

Court for the Eastern Division can be held in Akron, Cleveland and Youngstown.

Western Division

The Western Division comprises the counties of Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Marion, Mercer, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood and Wyandot.

Court for the Western Division can be held in Toledo.

Current judges

As of October 1, 2023^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
52	Chief Judge	Sara Elizabeth Lioi	Akron	1960	2007–present	2023–present	—	G.W. Bush
49	District Judge	John R. Adams	Akron	1955	2003–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
53	District Judge	Benita Y. Pearson	Youngstown	1963	2010–present	—	—	Obama
54	District Judge	Jeffrey J. Helmick	Toledo	1960	2012–present	—	—	Obama
55	District Judge	Pamela Barker	Cleveland	1957	2019–present	—	—	Trump
56	District Judge	James R. Knepp II	Toledo	1964	2020–present	—	—	Trump
57	District Judge	J. Philip Calabrese	Cleveland	1971	2020–present	—	—	Trump
58	District Judge	Charles E. Fleming	Cleveland	1962	2022–present[Note 1]	—	—	Biden
59	District Judge	David A. Ruiz	Cleveland	1973	2022–present[Note 1]	—	—	Biden
60	District Judge	Bridget M. Brennan	Cleveland	1974	2022–present[Note 1]	—	—	Biden
61	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
40	Senior Judge	James G. Carr	Toledo	1940	1994–2010	2004–2010	2010–present	Clinton
41	Senior Judge	Solomon Oliver Jr.	Cleveland	1947	1994–2021	2010–2017	2021–present	Clinton
44	Senior Judge	Peter C. Economus	inactive	1943	1995–2009	—	2009–present	Clinton
45	Senior Judge	Donald C. Nugent	Cleveland	1948	1995–2017	—	2017–present	Clinton
46	Senior Judge	Patricia Anne Gaughan	Cleveland	1953	1995–2023	2017–2023	2023–present	Clinton
47	Senior Judge	James S. Gwin	Cleveland	1954	1997–2021	—	2021–present	Clinton
48	Senior Judge	Dan Polster	Cleveland	1951	1998–2021	—	2021–present	Clinton
50	Senior Judge	Christopher A. Boyko	Cleveland	1954	2005–2020	—	2020–present	G.W. Bush
51	Senior Judge	Jack Zouhary	Toledo	1951	2006–2019	—	2019–present	G.W. Bush

1. Despite identical commission dates, Judges Fleming, Ruiz and Brennan are organized chronologically by virtue of seniority of age.

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat	Prior judge's duty station	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
12	Cleveland	Patricia Anne Gaughan	Senior status	October 1, 2023	–	–

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Hiram V. Willson	OH	1808–1866	1855–1866	—	—	Pierce	death
2	Charles Taylor Sherman	OH	1811–1879	1867–1872	—	—	A. Johnson	resignation
3	Martin Welker	OH	1819–1902	1873–1889[Note 1]	—	—	Grant	retirement
4	Augustus J. Ricks	OH	1843–1906	1889–1906[Note 2]	—	—	B. Harrison	death
5	Francis Joseph Wing	OH	1850–1918	1901–1905	—	—	McKinley	resignation
6	Robert Walker Tayler	OH	1852–1910	1905–1910	—	—	T. Roosevelt	death
7	John Milton Killits	OH	1858–1938	1910–1928	—	1928–1938	Taft	death
8	William Louis Day	OH	1876–1936	1911–1914	—	—	Taft	resignation
9	John Hessin Clarke	OH	1857–1945	1914–1916	—	—	Wilson	elevation to Supreme Court
10	David C. Westenhaver	OH	1865–1928	1917–1928	—	—	Wilson	death
11	Paul Jones	OH	1880–1965	1923–1965	1948–1959	—	Harding	death
12	Samuel H. West	OH	1872–1938	1928–1938	—	—	Coolidge	death
13	George Philip Hahn	OH	1879–1937	1928–1937	—	—	Coolidge	death
14	Frank Le Blond Kloeb	OH	1890–1976	1937–1964	1959–1960	1964–1976	F. Roosevelt	death
15	Robert Nugen Wilkin	OH	1886–1973	1939–1949	—	1949–1973	F. Roosevelt	death
16	Emerich B. Freed	OH	1897–1955	1941–1955	—	—	F. Roosevelt	death
17	Charles Joseph McNamee	OH	1890–1964	1951–1964	1960	—	Truman	death
18	James C. Connell	OH	1897–1973	1954–1971	1960–1967	1971–1973	Eisenhower	death
19	Paul Charles Weick	OH	1899–1997	1956–1959	—	—	Eisenhower	elevation to 6th Cir.
20	Girard Edward Kalbfleisch	OH	1899–1990	1959–1970	1967–1969	1970–1990	Eisenhower	death
21	Frank J. Battisti	OH	1922–1994	1961–1994	1969–1990	1994–1994	Kennedy	death
22	Ben Charles Green	OH	1905–1983	1961–1976[Note 3]	—	1976–1983	Kennedy	death
23	Don John Young	OH	1910–1996	1965–1980	—	1980–1996	L. Johnson	death
24	William Kernahan Thomas	OH	1911–2001	1966–1981	—	1981–2001	L. Johnson	death
25	Thomas Demetrios Lambros	OH	1930–2019	1967–1995	1990–1995	—	L. Johnson	retirement
26	Robert B. Krupansky	OH	1921–2004	1970–1982	—	—	Nixon	elevation to 6th Cir.
27	Nicholas Joseph Walinski Jr.	OH	1920–1992	1970–1985	—	1985–1992	Nixon	death
28	Leroy John Contie Jr.	OH	1920–2001	1971–1982	—	—	Nixon	elevation to 6th Cir.
29	John Michael Manos	OH	1922–2006	1976–1991	—	1991–2006	Ford	death
30	George Washington White	OH	1931–2011	1980–1999	1995–1999	1999–2011	Carter	death
31	Ann Aldrich	OH	1927–2010	1980–1995	—	1995–2010	Carter	death
32	Alvin Krenzler	OH	1921–2010	1981–1992	—	1992–1992	Reagan	retirement
33	John William Potter	OH	1918–2013	1982–1992	—	1992–2013	Reagan	death
34	David Dudley Dowd Jr.	OH	1929–2016	1982–1996	—	1996–2016	Reagan	death
35	Sam H. Bell	OH	1925–2010	1982–1996	—	1996–2010	Reagan	death
36	Alice M. Batchelder	OH	1944–present	1985–1992	—	—	Reagan	elevation to 6th Cir.
37	Richard B. McQuade Jr.	OH	1940–present	1986–1989	—	—	Reagan	resignation
38	Paul Ramon Matia	OH	1937–present	1991–2004	1999–2004	2004–2005	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
39	Lesley B. Wells	OH	1937–present	1994–2006	—	2006–2015	Clinton	retirement
42	David A. Katz	OH	1933–2016	1994–2005	—	2005–2016	Clinton	death
43	Kathleen M. O'Malley	OH	1956–present	1994–2010	—	—	Clinton	elevation to Fed. Cir.

1. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 2, 1873, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 8, 1873, and received commission the same day.
2. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 16, 1889, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 16, 1890, and received commission the same day.
3. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1962, confirmed by the United States Senate on June 29, 1962, and received commission on July 2, 1962.

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat established on February 10, 1855 by 10 Stat. 604 Willson 1855–1866 Sherman 1867–1872 Welker 1873–1889 Ricks 1890–1906 Seat abolished on December 22, 1906 (temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 2 Seat established on December 19, 1900 by 31 Stat. 726 (temporary) Wing 1901–1905 Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 1 on December 22, 1906 Tayler 1905–1910 Day 1911–1914 Clarke 1914–1916 Westenhaver 1917–1928 West 1928–1938 Wilkin 1939–1949 McNamee 1951–1964 Seat abolished on May 2, 1964 (temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 3 Seat established on February 24, 1910 by 36 Stat. 202 Killits 1910–1928 Hahn 1928–1937 Kloeb 1937–1964 Young 1965–1980 Krenzler 1981–1992 Katz 1994–2005 Zouhary 2006–2019 Knepp II 2020–present

Seat 4 Seat established on September 14, 1922 by 42 Stat. 837 (temporary) Seat made permanent on August 19, 1935 by 49 Stat. 659 Jones 1923–1965 Thomas 1966–1981 Potter 1982–1992 O'Malley 1994–2010 Seat abolished on December 27, 2010 (temporary judgeship expired)

Seat 5 Seat established on May 1, 1941 by 55 Stat. 148 (temporary) Seat made permanent on August 3, 1949 by 63 Stat. 493 Freed 1941–1955 Weick 1956–1959 Kalbfleisch 1959–1970 Walinski, Jr. 1970–1985 McQuade, Jr. 1986–1989 Carr 1994–2010 Helmick 2012–present

Seat 6 Seat established on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 Connell 1954–1971 Contie, Jr. 1971–1982 Dowd, Jr. 1982–1996 Polster 1998–2021 Brennan 2022–present

Seat 7 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 Battisti 1961–1994 Economus 1995–2009 Pearson 2010–present

Seat 8 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 (temporary) Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 2 on May 2, 1964 Green 1962–1976 Manos 1976–1991 Wells 1994–2006 Lioi 2007–present

Seat 9 Seat established on May 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Lambros 1967–1995 Nugent 1995–2017 Barker 2019–present

Seat 10 Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 Krupansky 1970–1982 Bell 1982–1996 Gwin 1997–2021 Fleming 2022–present

Seat 11 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 White 1980–1999 Adams 2003–present

Seat 12 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 (temporary) Seat made permanent on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 347 Aldrich 1980–1995 Gaughan 1995–2023 vacant 2023–present

Seat 13 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 347 (temporary) Seat made permanent on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 Batchelder 1985–1992 Oliver, Jr. 1994–2021 Ruiz 2022–present

Seat 14 Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 (temporary) Matia 1991–2004 Seat became permanent upon the abolition of Seat 4 on December 27, 2010 Boyko 2005–2020 Calabrese 2020–present

See also

• Ohio portal

• Courts of Ohio
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in Ohio