United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

Northern District of Ohio
Sixth Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 11
Judges: 10
Vacancies: 1
Judges
Chief: Sara Lioi
Active judges: John R. Adams, Pamela A. Barker, Bridget Brennan, J. Philip Calabrese, Charles Fleming, Jeffrey J. Helmick, James Knepp, Sara Lioi, Benita Pearson, David A. Ruiz Senior judges: Christopher Boyko, James Carr, Peter Economus, Patricia Gaughan, James Gwin, Donald Nugent, Solomon Oliver, Dan Polster, Jack Zouhary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio is one of 94 United States district courts. The main courthouse is located in Cleveland, Ohio, along with other offices in Toledo, Akron, and Youngstown. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit based in downtown Cincinnati at the Potter A. Stewart Federal Courthouse and Building.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There is one current vacancy on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, out of the court's 11 judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.

Active judges

Article III judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
John R. Adams	George W. Bush (R)	February 12, 2003 -	Bowling Green State University, 1978	University of Akron School of Law, 1983
Sara Lioi	George W. Bush (R)	March 14, 2007 -	Bowling Green State University, 1983	The Ohio State University, Moritz School of Law, 1987
Benita Pearson	Barack Obama (D)	December 27, 2010 -	Georgetown University, 1985	Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, 1995
Jeffrey J. Helmick	Barack Obama (D)	June 7, 2012 -	University of Michigan, 1983	The Ohio State University, Moritz School of Law, 1988
Pamela A. Barker	Donald Trump (R)	June 18, 2019 -	Kenyon College, 1979	The Ohio State University, 1982
James Knepp	Donald Trump (R)	November 13, 2020 -	Mount Union College, 1986	University of Toledo College of Law, 1992
J. Philip Calabrese	Donald Trump (R)	December 3, 2020 -	College of the Holy Cross, 1993	Harvard Law School, 2000
Bridget Brennan	Joe Biden (D)	February 8, 2022 -	John Carroll University, 1997	Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 2000
Charles Fleming	Joe Biden (D)	February 8, 2022 -	Kent State University, 1986	Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 1990
David A. Ruiz	Joe Biden (D)	February 8, 2022 -	The Ohio State University, 1997	Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law, 2000

Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 5
• Republican appointed: 5

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Peter Economus	Bill Clinton (D)	July 3, 2009 -	Youngstown State University, 1967	University of Akron School of Law, 1970
James Carr	Bill Clinton (D)	June 1, 2010 -	Kenyon College, 1966	Harvard Law School, 1969
Donald Nugent	Bill Clinton (D)	January 1, 2017 -	Xavier University, 1970	Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, 1974
Jack Zouhary	George W. Bush (R)	July 1, 2019 -	Dartmouth College, 1973	University of Toledo College of Law, 1976
Christopher Boyko	George W. Bush (R)	January 6, 2020 -	Mount Union College, 1976	Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, 1979
Dan Polster	Bill Clinton (D)	January 31, 2021 -	Harvard College, 1972	Harvard Law School, 1976
James Gwin	Bill Clinton (D)	January 31, 2021 -	Kenyon College, 1976	University of Akron School of Law, 1979
Solomon Oliver	Bill Clinton (D)	February 15, 2021 -	College of Wooster, 1969	New York University School of Law, 1972
Patricia Gaughan	Bill Clinton (D)	October 1, 2023 -	St. Mary's College, 1975	Notre Dame Law School, 1978

Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 7
• Republican appointed: 2

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
William Baughman		February 16, 2000 -	Saint Vincent College	Notre Dame Law
Thomas Parker		March 25, 2016 -	Miami University	Case Western Reserve University
Jonathan D. Greenberg		August 18, 2016 -
Carmen Henderson	United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio	July 1, 2020 -
Darrell Clay		May 14, 2021 -
Amanda Knapp	United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio	October 1, 2021 -	University of Pennsylvania, 1999	Harvard Law School, 2002

Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.

Patricia Gaughan - (2017- 2023) Solomon Oliver - (2010 - 2017) James G. Carr - (2004 - 2010) Paul Matia - (1999 - 2004) George White - (1995 - 1999) Thomas Lambros - (1990 - 1995)

Frank Battisti - (1969 - 1990) Girard Kalbfleisch - (1967 - 1969) James Connell - (1960 - 1967) Charles McNamee - (1960 - 1960) Frank Kloeb - (1959 - 1960) Paul Jones - (1948 - 1959)

Former judges

For more information about judges on the Northern District of Ohio, see former federal judges of the Northern District of Ohio.

Jurisdiction

The counties of the Northern District of Ohio (click for larger map)

The Northern District of Ohio has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Northern District of Ohio consists of all the following counties in the northern part of the state of Ohio.

There are two court divisions, each covering the following counties:

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

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

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2025.

Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

Caseload statistics explanation
Term	Explanation
Cases filed and terminated	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated or decided by the court in a calendar year. The chart below reflects the table columns Cases filed and Cases terminated.
Average time from filing to disposition	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to date of disposition (acquittal, sentencing, dismissal, etc.). The chart below reflects the table columns Median time (Criminal) and Median time (Civil).
Starting case load	The number of cases pending from the previous calendar year.
Cases filed	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated in a calendar year.
Cases terminated	The total number of civil and criminal lawsuits decided by the court in a calendar year.
Remaining cases	The number of civil and criminal cases pending at the end of a given year.
Median time (Criminal)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition. In criminal cases, the date of disposition occurs on the day of sentencing or acquittal/dismissal.
Median time (Civil)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition.
Three-year civil cases	The number and percent of civil cases that were filed more than three years before the end of the given calendar year.
Vacant posts	The number of months during the year an authorized judgeship was vacant.
Trial/Post	The number of trials completed divided by the number of authorized judgeships on the court. Trials include evidentiary trials, hearings on temporary restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions.
Source: United States Courts, "Explanation of the Judicial Caseload Profiles for United States District Courts," accessed September 25, 2018

United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio caseload stats, 2010-2024
Year	Cases Filed	Cases Terminated	Cases Pending	Number of Judgeships	Vacant Judgeship Months	Average Total Filings per Judgeship	Trials Completed per Judgeship	Median time from filing to disposition, criminal	Median time from filing to disposition, civil	Three-year civil cases (#)	Three-year civil cases (%)
2010	4,575	5,641	5,071	11	19	416	12	7	14	304	7
2011	6,895	4,412	7,294	11	12	627	16	7	10	571	8
2012	8,406	5,168	10,833	11	5	764	11	8	10	337	3
2013	5,641	4,665	11,830	11	0	513	13	8	9	303	3
2014	4,628	5,528	10,919	11	0	421	12	9	13	2,817	27
2015	5,578	8,220	8,852	11	0	507	11	8	25	3,222	39
2016	4,666	8,198	5,350	11	0	424	11	8	23	1,127	23
2017	4,422	4,541	5,246	11	12	402	11	9	10	1,237	27
2018	5,926	4,524	6,509	11	12	539	13	8	9	1,241	22
2019	5,925	5,386	7,050	11	11	539	12	9	10	805	13
2020	4,721	4,241	7,551	11	24	429	9	11	10	566	9
2021	4,205	4,447	7,298	11	44	382	13	11	9	1,831	31
2022	3,921	4,365	6,842	11	15	356	14	13	10	2,943	52
2023	4,041	4,412	6,482	11	4	367	15	14	8	3,158	58
2024	4,563	4,169	6,861	11	6	415	11	13	8	3,231	53
Average	5,208	5,194	7,599	11	11	473	12	10	12	1,580	25

History

On February 19, 1803, the State of Ohio was organized as a judicial district with one judgeship authorized for this U.S. district court. This district court was not yet assigned to a judicial circuit and was therefore granted the same jurisdiction as the United States circuit courts, excluding appeals and writs of error, which are the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

On February 24, 1807, Statute 2 Stat. 420 repealed the authority of the district court in Ohio to exercise the jurisdiction of the U.S. circuit courts. The district of Ohio was reassigned to the newly organized Seventh Circuit, providing for a United States circuit court for the district.

The State of Ohio divided into two judicial districts on February 10, 1855. These judicial districts were known as the Northern District of Ohio and the Southern District of Ohio. One judgeship was assigned to each of these districts, with the district judge serving the District of Ohio being reassigned to serve the Southern District of Ohio.

Congress went on to reorganize the circuits on July 23, 1866, and assigned the state of Ohio to the Sixth Circuit. Over time, 11 additional judicial posts were added for a total of 12 current posts.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Northern District of Ohio:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
February 10, 1855	10 Stat. 604	1
December 19, 1900	31 Stat 726	2 (1 temporary)
February 24, 1910	36 Stat. 202	2
September 14, 1922	42 Stat. 837	3
May 1, 1941	55 Stat. 148	4
February 10, 1954	68 Stat. 8	5
May 19, 1961	75 Stat. 80	7
March 18, 1966	80 Stat. 75	7
June 2, 1970	84 Stat. 294	8
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	10
July 10, 1984	98 Stat. 347	11
December 1, 1990	104 Stat. 5089	12 (1 temporary)
December 27, 2010	Post Expired	11

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see Justia.com-Dockets and Filings-Northern District of Ohio.

Federal courthouse

Four separate courthouses serve the Northern District of Ohio and are located in Akron, Cleveland, Toledo, and Youngstown.

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through September 1 of the first year of presidents' second term in office. At this point in the term, President Obama had the most district court appointments with 19.

Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.

Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.

Step	A Candidacy Proceeds	A Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President	President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee	President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate	Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation	Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation	Candidate becomes federal judge	Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
• Eastern District of Kentucky
• Western District of Kentucky
• Eastern District of Michigan
• Western District of Michigan
• Southern District of Ohio
• Eastern District of Tennessee
• Middle District of Tennessee
• Western District of Tennessee

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
• US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio
• Judges of the Northern District of Ohio
• Opinions of the Northern District of Ohio