Welcome to the U.S. District Court

Northern District of Ohio

CONSTITUTIONOver 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution. It is a basic design for how our government should work. It divides the government into three branches of government: Judicial, Legislative, and Executive. Each branch has its own responsibility to make

sure our country runs smoothly.

Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch is made up of courts that interpret the meaning of a law. It was established in Article III of the Constitution.

Federal CourtsThe Federal Courts are established by the U.S. Government. They hear cases involving:

the U.S. Constitutionlaws passed by Congresscases in which the United States is a partycases involving foreign diplomatsbankruptcysome cases involving state laws but involve

parties from different states

Federal Courts

There are fewer than 1,700 federal judges and magistrates who hear about two million cases a year.

Federal District Courts are trial courts. Cases are tried, witnesses testify, and juries serve. They are divided into 94 federal judicial districts.

State CourtsThe State Courts are established by the state or by a county or city within the state. They hear cases involving:

laws passed by the statetraffic and parking violationsfamily disputespetty offensessmall civil casesprobate matters

There are almost 30,000 judges who hear about 50 million cases a year.

Court of AppealsIf you lose a trial in a district court, you can appeal the case in the Court of Appeals. The Court will review the case to see if the judge applied the law correctly. They are grouped in 12 regional circuits, plus a 13th federal circuit covering the entire country.

U.S. Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court hears cases from the court of appeals in each circuit and from the state supreme courts. It does not hear all cases and it agrees to hear only a small percentage of the cases it is asked to review. It is located in Washington, D.C.

The Northern District of Ohio is in the Sixth Circuit

Ohio is broken into two districts:

Northern District of Ohio

Southern District of Ohio

The Northern District of Ohio has four locations: Cleveland,

Akron, Youngstown, and Toledo. Currently, there are 16 district

judges and nine magistrate judges.

JudgesAkron

Judge John AdamsJudge Sara LioiJudge David Dowd, Jr.Magistrate Judge Benita Pearson

Youngstown

Judge Peter EconomusMagistrate Judge George Limbert

Judges

Toledo

Chief Judge James CarrJudge Jack ZouharyJudge David KatzMagistrate Judge Vernelis Armstrong

Judges

Cleveland

Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr.Judge Kathleen O’Malley

Judge Donald NugentJudge Patricia Gaughan

Judge Dan PolsterJudge James Gwin

Judge Christopher BoykoJudge Ann AldrichJudge Lesley Wells

Magistrate Judge Nancy Vecchiarelli Magistrate Judge William Baughman, Jr.

Magistrate Judge Kenneth McHarghMagistrate Judge Greg White

Magistrate Judge David PerelmanMagistrate Judge James Gallas