Christopher Boyko

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Christopher Boyko
Image of Christopher Boyko

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (senior status)
Tenure

2020 - Present

Years in position

5

Prior offices
United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

Education

Bachelor's

Mount Union College, 1976

Law

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, 1979

Personal
Birthplace
Cleveland, Ohio


Christopher A. Boyko is an Article III federal judge on senior status for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. He joined the court in 2005 after being nominated by President George W. Bush (R). Boyko assumed senior status on January 6, 2020.

J. Philip Calabrese was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) to replace Boyko on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Calabrese was confirmed in 2020.

Early life and education

A native of Ohio, Boyko graduated from Mount Union College with his bachelor's degree in 1976 and received his J.D. from Cleveland State University's Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1979.[1]

Professional career

Boyko was a private practice attorney in Parma, Ohio, for 15 years. Boyko also served as a part-time assistant prosecutor for the city of Parma, Ohio, from 1981 until 1987, and he was also a part-time lead prosecutor and director of law for Parma from 1987 until 1993. In 1993, Boyko became a municipal court judge for Parma before becoming executive vice president and general counsel for Copy America, Inc. He was in that position from 1994 until 1995. In 1996, Boyko became a court of common pleas judge for Cuyahoga County from 1996 until 2004. He was nominated for the federal bench in 2005.[1]

Judicial career

Northern District of Ohio

On the unanimous recommendations of Senators Michael DeWine and George Vonovich, Boyko was nominated by President George W. Bush (R) on July 22, 2004, to a seat vacated by Paul Matia. Matia assumed senior status at that time. Boyko was confirmed by the Senate on November 21, 2004, on a Senate vote and received commission on January 3, 2005. Boyko assumed senior status on January 6, 2020.[1]

Boyko was succeeded by J. Philip Calabrese, who was nominated by President Donald Trump (R). Calabrese was confirmed in 2020.

Noteworthy cases

Lawsuit over shooting by police of unarmed robbery suspect dismissed by judge (2015)

Danny Withers, Jr. was suspected by Cleveland police of being a bank robber. They believed he threatened to shoot a bank teller in the head if she put a dye pack in the bag with the money he demanded. When officers arrived at Withers’ grandmother’s home to serve an arrest warrant, where Withers was hiding, they were let in to search. In the basement, they noticed a closed closet and demanded that Withers come out with his hands in the air. The door cracked open, revealing the silhouette of a man raising his right hand. Officer Daniel Zola fired a single shot that hit Withers. He was taken to the hospital where he died. It was subsequently determined that Withers had no gun in his hand, though a screwdriver was found near the scene.

Withers’ relatives filed a lawsuit, claiming the city of Cleveland and its police officers violated Withers’ civil rights. Judge Christopher Boyko presided over this case for several years, slowly dismissing portions of it as time passed. On February 6, 2015, however, the judge dismissed the case entirely, finding that the officers did not act unconstitutionally and the city cannot be held responsible for constitutional acts on the part of its officers. Judge Boyko said the officers were lawfully in the home to execute a search warrant when Withers, a potentially violent suspect, made what officers felt was a threatening move.

Articles:

Philip Rossi Ponzi Scheme case (2009)
See also: United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (Unites States, v. Philip D. Rossi, 1:08-CR-468-001)

Judge Boyko sentenced investment banker Phillip Rossi to twelve years in federal prison on July 13, 2009. Rossi was found guilty of bilking investors out of $3.5 million.

Boyko threw out the normal sentencing guidelines and gave Rossi twice the maximum sentence the guidelines would have allowed. Rossipleadedguilty to a single count of fraud.

In explaining his rationale for the sentence, Boyko took issue with Rossi continuing to defraud investors after he had been confronted last fall by both FBI and Postal Service investigators. Boyko also noted that the twelve-year sentence was warranted when Rossi continued to contact victims after his indictment. "That to me is the height of arrogance and greed," said Judge Boyko.[2] Rossi later appealed to the Sixth Circuit, but Boyko's decision was upheld.[3]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Federal Judicial Center, "Christopher Boyko's Biography"
  2. ↑ Cleveland Plain Dealer, "Phillip Rossi sentenced to 12 years in prison; federal judge throws the book at rogue broker," July 13, 2009
  3. ↑ Justia.com, "USA v. Philip Rossi," accessed June 6, 2013
Political offices
Preceded by:
Paul Matia 		Northern District of Ohio
2005–2020
Seat #12 		Succeeded by:
Philip Calabrese



Ohio courts

Federal courts:

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio

State courts:

Ohio Supreme Court • Ohio District Courts of Appeal • Ohio Courts of Common Pleas • Ohio County Courts • Ohio Municipal Courts • Ohio Court of Claims

State resources:

Courts in Ohio • Ohio judicial elections • Judicial selection in Ohio

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