Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) today expressed their gratitude to the members of the bipartisan judicial advisory commission that assisted them with identifying the best candidates to fill recent vacancies on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. The Northern District has court locations in Akron, Cleveland, Toledo and Youngstown. It serves over 6 million Ohioans in the 40 most northern counties in Ohio.
“The members of this bipartisan commission provided informed and constructive counsel in recommending candidates to serve as Ohio’s Northern District federal judges. We thank them for their time and dedicated service,” said the Senators.
Today, President Biden nominated three distinguished Ohioans to the U.S. District Court for Northern Ohio based on the recommendations of Senators Brown and Portman, who utilized the bipartisan commission’s recommendations. The nominees are:
Ms. Bridget Meehan Brennan, who has served as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio since January 2021 and has held a number of leadership roles in the U.S. Attorney’s Office since 2007.
Mr. Charles Esque Fleming, who has served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland since 1991.
Judge David Augustin Ruiz, who has served as a Magistrate Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio since 2016. From 2010 to 2016, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Ohio.
The bipartisan commission process was first established by Senator Brown and former U.S. Senator George Voinovich (R-OH), and Brown and Portman have carried on the tradition. The senators would like to thank the commissioners who served during the most recent application process:
Jonathan Adler, John Verheij Memorial Professor of Law and Director, Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law, Case Western University
Mohhamed Al-Hamdani, Partner, Larson, Lyons and Al-Hamdani
Julie Byrne, Member and Attorney-at-Law, J.P. Ashbrook LLC
Elizabeth Callan, Of Counsel, Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease, LLP
Paul Demarco, Partner, Markovits, Stock & DeMarco
Barbara Doseck, City Attorney, Dayton, OH
Dennis Eckart, Principal, North Shore Associates
Kayla Griffin, State Director, All Voting is Local
Commission Chairwoman Joyce Goldstein, Principal, Joyce Goldstein and Associates
Art Hernandez, Former Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Compliance Officer, LaRoche Tree Service, Inc.
Jacqueline Johnson, First Assistant, Federal Public Defender Office Northern District of Ohio
Peter Kirsanow, Partner, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff
Barbara Lum, Partner, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff
Leah Pappas Porner, Partner-in-Charge Columbus, Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP
Pete Patterson, Partner, Cooper & Kirk
Carol Rendon, Partner, Baker Hosteler
Carter Stewart, Managing Director, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
Chris Walker, John W. Bricker Professor of Law, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
Philip Williamson, Litigation Partner, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Margaret Wong, Principal, Margaret W. Wong and Associates
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