United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

Divisions

The court is divided into two divisions.

Eastern Division

The Eastern Division, which sits in the Joseph P. Kinneary United States Courthouse at Columbus, serves the counties of Athens, Belmont, Coshocton, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, Licking, Logan, Madison, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Union, Vinton, and Washington.

Western Division

The Western Division sits at both Cincinnati and Dayton. Cases from the counties of Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland, Lawrence, Scioto, and Warren are heard at Cincinnati in the Potter Stewart United States Courthouse. Cases from the counties of Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Shelby are heard at Dayton.

History

The United States District Court for the District of Ohio was established on February 19, 1803, by . The act of authorized one judgeship for the court. The district court in Ohio, not being assigned to a judicial circuit, was granted the same jurisdiction as U.S. circuit courts, except in appeals and writs of error, which were the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. By the act of February 24, 1807, , the authority of the Ohio district court to exercise the jurisdiction of a U.S. circuit court was repealed, and Ohio was assigned to the newly organized Seventh Circuit. It also provided for a U.S. circuit court for the District of Ohio. The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on February 10, 1855, by . The district judge serving the District of Ohio, Humphrey H. Leavitt, was reassigned to the Southern District of Ohio.

On July 23, 1866, by , Congress reorganized the circuits and assigned Ohio to the Sixth Circuit. Additional judgeships were created in 1910, 1937, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1984, and 1990.

Current judges

:

Vacancies and pending nominations

Former judges

Chief judges

Succession of seats

United States attorneys

Notes

References

1. (February 19, 2025). "Southern District of Ohio {{!}} United States Attorney's Office announces departure of Kenneth L. Parker as U.S. Attorney {{!}} United States Department of Justice".
2. Asbury Dickens, ''A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America'' (1852), p. 392.
3. [http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/courts_district_oh.html U.S. District Courts of Ohio, Legislative history], ''[[Federal Judicial Center]]''.
4. "History of the U.S. Attorney Southern District of Ohio". United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Ohio.