Source: United States Senator for Ohio Rob Portman
September 30, 2021 | Press Releases
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-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 Portman and Brown, who adopted 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 Portman and Brown 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, BakerHostetler
- 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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