WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) began accepting applications to fill the vacancies on the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Ohio and Northern District of Ohio.
The Honorable Gregory L. Frost retired from his position, creating the vacancy in the Southern District. The Southern District has court locations in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton and serves more than five million Ohioans in 48 counties. The Honorable Donald C. Nugent retired from his position, creating the vacancy in the Northern District. The Northern District has court locations in Akron, Cleveland, Toledo, and Youngstown and serves approximately 5.9 million citizens of the 40 most northern counties in Ohio.
Candidates can download applications here or can request them by emailing [email protected]. The completed application must be sent to [email protected] by the close of business on Wednesday, April 12, 2017.
“We wish both Judge Frost and Judge Nugent well in their retirement, and thank them for their years of public service,” said Portman. “The commission will weigh the best candidates and give Ohioans an opportunity to have input on the selection.”
“I thank Judge Frost and Judge Nugent for their many years of dedicated and thoughtful public service,” said Brown. “I know the commission is devoted to finding the best possible candidates to continue his important work.”
The President of the United States nominates U.S. District Court Judges based on recommendations from U.S. Senators. Nominees must then be confirmed by the full U.S. Senate. U.S. District Courts are general trial courts which hear both civil and criminal cases.
In the interest of identifying the best possible judicial candidates for Ohio’s federal bench, Portman and Brown are working to establish a bipartisan judicial advisory commission. Members of the commission will be chosen by both senators to review applications and recommend candidates for this vacancy. This is a process that was first established by Brown and former U.S. Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH).
