Michael Watson (Ohio)
Michael Watson is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. He joined the court in 2004 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. He assumed senior status on November 1, 2025.[1]
Early life and education
A native of Akron, Ohio, Watson graduated from Ohio State University with his bachelor's degree in 1983 and from Capital University School of Law with his J.D. in 1987.[1]
Military service
Watson served in the U.S. Air Force from 1975 to 1978 and in the Ohio Air National Guard from 1978 to 1984.[1]
Professional career
- 2004-Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
- 2025-Present: Senior judge
- 2004-2025: Judge
- 2003-2004: Judge, Ohio Tenth District Court of Appeals
- 1996-2003: Judge, Jackson County Court of Common Pleas, Ohio
- 1992-1995: Counsel, Governor George Voinovich (R), Ohio
- 1994-1995: Chief legal counsel
- 1992-1994: Deputy chief legal counsel
- 1991-1992: Chief legal counsel, Ohio Department of Commerce
- 1988-1991: Private practice, Ohio
- 1983-1988: Bailiff and law clerk, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Ohio[1]
Judicial career
Southern District of Ohio
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Michael H. Watson |
| Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 154 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: April 6, 2004
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| ABA Rating: Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified
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| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: June 4, 2004
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| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: July 8, 2004
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| Confirmed: September 7, 2004
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| Vote: Voice vote
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Watson was nominated by President George W. Bush on April 6, 2004, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio vacated by Judge James Graham. The American Bar Association rated Watson Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Watson's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 4, 2004, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on July 8, 2004. Watson was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on September 7, 2004, and he received his commission on September 10, 2004.[1][2][3] He assumed senior status on November 1, 2025.
Noteworthy cases
Circulator employer identification deemed constitutional (2014)
On March 7, 2014, Secretary of State Jon Husted indicated that he had removed the Libertarian Party's statewide candidates from the party's primary ballot (including gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl). Husted claimed that the paid petitioner who gathered signatures on behalf of the Libertarian Party failed to identify his or her employer on the petition.[4] The Libertarian Party filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent Husted from printing the primary ballots without the names of the party's statewide candidates. The party argued that prior precedent prevented the Secretary of State from disqualifying candidates on the grounds that Husted disqualified the party's 2014 statewide slate. The Libertarian Party further contended that it is unconstitutional to require a circulator to identify his or her employer or to treat a paid circulator differently from a volunteer circulator.[5] Watson scheduled a hearing on the matter for March 11, 2014.[6] On March 19, 2014, Watson ruled that the circulator law is indeed constitutional, thereby reaffirming Husted's decision to remove the Libertarian candidates from the ballot.
Residency requirement for political petition circulators blocked (2013)
On November 13, 2013, Judge Watson granted a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of Ohio's Senate Bill 47, a measure which sought to prohibit non-residents from collecting political petition signatures, except in the case of presidential candidates. S.B. 47 was signed into law by Ohio Governor John Kasich in March 2013, and enacted as of June 2013. In the underlying case, separate suits were filed in September 2013 by conservative and libertarian political groups, each contesting the constitutionality of the bill as a violation of their First Amendment rights. In his decision granting the preliminary injunction, Watson noted that S.B. 47 not only substantially burdened core political speech, but also that even a temporary violation of First Amendment rights constituted irreparable harm.[7]
See also
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
- United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge Michael H. Watson," accessed May 5, 2016.
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1486 — Michael H. Watson — The Judiciary," accessed May 13, 2017
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 108th Congress," accessed May 13, 2017
- ↑ Ballot Access News "Ohio Secretary of State Removes Libertarian Party Statewide Candidates from the Libertarian Primary Ballot," March 7, 2014
- ↑ Ballot Access News "Ohio Libertarian Party Files Strong New Legal Argument in Existing Federal Ballot Access Concerning Primary Ballot Access for Its Statewide Nominees," March 8, 2014
- ↑ Ballot Access News "U.S. District Court Sets Hearing in Ohio Libertarian Primary Ballot Access Lawsuit," March 10, 2014
- ↑ Northeast Ohio Media Group, "Federal judge blocks enforcement of new state restrictions on petition gatherers," November 14, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Graham |
United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio 2004-2025 |
Succeeded by - |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |
Armijo • Bates • Beistline • Blackburn • Bowdre • Bunning • Bury • Caldwell • Camp • Cassell • Cebull • Clement • Clifton • Crane • Eagan • Engelhardt • Friot • Gibbons • Granade • Gregory • Gritzner • Haddon • Hartz • Heaton • Hicks • Howard • Johnson • Jorgenson • Krieger • Land • Leon • Mahan • Martinez • Martone • McConnell • Melloy • Mills • O'Brien • Parker • Payne • Prost • Reeves • Riley • Robinson • Rogers • Royal • Shedd • B. Smith • L. Smith • Walton • Wooten • Zainey | ||
| 2002 |
Africk • Anderson • Autrey • Baylson • Cercone • Chesler • Clark • Collyer • Conner • Conti • Corrigan • Davis • Davis • Dorr • England • Ericksen • Fuller • Gardner • Godbey • Griesbach • Hanen • Hovland • Hudson • Jones • Jordan • Kinkeade • Klausner • Kugler • Leighton • Linares • Moses • Marra • Martinez • Martini • Mays • McVerry • Phillips • Raggi • Reade • Rose • Rufe • Savage • Schwab • Smith • St. Eve • Walter • White • Wolfson | ||
| 2003 |
Adams • Altonaga • Bea • Benitez • Bennett • Boyle • Brack • Breen • Browning • Burns • Bybee • Callahan • Campbell • Cardone • Carney • Castel • Chertoff • Cohn • Colloton • Conrad • Coogler • Cook • Cooke • Crone • Der-Yeghiayan • Drell • Duffey • Duncan • Erickson • Feuerstein • Figa • Filip • Fischer • Fisher • Flanagan • Floyd • Frost • Gibson • Greer • Gruender • Guirola • Hall • Hardiman • Hayes • Herrera • Hicks • Holmes • Holwell • Hopkins • Houston • Irizarry • Jones • Junell • Karas • Kravitz • Martinez • McKnight • Minaldi • Montalvo • Mosman • Otero • Pickering • Prado • Pratter • Proctor • Quarles • Robart • Roberts • Robinson • Rodgers • Rodriguez • Sabraw • Sanchez • Saylor • Selna • Sharpe • Simon • Springmann • Stanceu • Steele • Stengel • Suko • Sutton • Sykes • Titus • Townes • Tymkovich • Van Antwerpen • Varlan • Wake • Wesley • White • Woodcock • Yeakel | ||
| 2004 |
Alvarez • Benton • Boyko • Covington • Diamond • Harwell • Kelley • Schiavelli • Schneider • Starrett • Watson | ||
| 2005 |
Alito • Barrett • Batten • Bianco • Brown • Burgess • Conrad • Cox • Crotty • Delgado-Colon • Dever • DuBose • Griffin • Griffith • Johnston • Kendall • Larson • Ludington • Mattice • McKeague • Neilson • Owen • Pryor • Roberts • Sandoval • Schiltz • Seabright • Smoak • Van Tatenhove • Vitaliano • Watkins • Zouhary | ||
| 2006 |
Besosa • Bumb • Chagares • Cogan • Gelpi • Golden • Gordon • Gorsuch • Guilford • Hillman • Holmes • Ikuta • D. Jordan • K. Jordan • Kavanaugh • Miller • Moore • Shepherd • Sheridan • Smith • Whitney • Wigenton | ||
| 2007 |
Anderson • Aycock • Bailey • Bryant • Davis • DeGiusti • Dow • Elrod • Fairbank • Fischer • Frizzell • Gutierrez • Hall • Hardiman • Haynes • Howard • Jarvey • Jones • Jonker • Kapala • Kays • Laplante • Limbaugh • Lioi • Livingston • Maloney • Mauskopf • Mendez • Miller • Neff • O'Connor • O'Grady • O'Neill • Osteen • Ozerden • Reidinger • Sammartino • Schroeder • Settle • Smith • Snow • Southwick • Suddaby • Sullivan • Thapar • Tinder • Van Bokkelen • Wood • Wright • Wu | ||
| 2008 |
Agee • Anello • Arguello • Brimmer • Gardephe • Goldberg • Jones • Kethledge • Lawrence • Matsumoto • Melgren • Murphy • Scriven • Seibel • Slomsky • Trenga • Waddoups • White | ||
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
