WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and George V. Voinovich (R-OH) today announced the start of the process for recommending a candidate to fill the anticipated vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. A vacancy will be created following the confirmation of Judge Kate O’Malley, who was nominated by President Obama in March to serve on United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

 In the interest of identifying the best possible judicial candidates for Ohio’s federal bench, Brown and Voinovich established two judicial advisory commissions in 2009. With members appointed by both senators, the commissions recommend candidates for positions in the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio.

 “Judge Kate O’Malley has served and continues to serve the Northern District of Ohio with distinction,” Brown said. “I appreciate all the work that the commission members will devote to finding the best possible candidates for this important position and look forward to receiving their recommendations.”

 “I commend Judge O’Malley for her distinguished service and noteworthy contributions to our great state and the nation,” Sen. Voinovich said. “I am confident in the Commission's process and look forward to their recommendation of a judge with impartiality, legal expertise and judicial temperament to serve the Northern District of Ohio with integrity.”

 The commissions, first established in April 2009, have 17 members. To prevent any conflicts of interest, commission members residing in the Southern District of Ohio will screen applicants for the Northern District.  The process for screening, recommending, and confirming judicial candidates takes several months.

 Candidates can request applications by emailing judicial_candidate@brown.senate.gov or by calling 202-224-2315. 17 copies of the completed application must be sent to Brown’s Cincinnati office at 425 Walnut Street, Suite 2310, Cincinnati, OH 45202 by the close of business on November 15th, 2010.

 U.S. District Court judges are nominated by the president of the United States and must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. U.S. District Courts are general trials courts which hear both civil and criminal cases.

 The Northern District has court locations in Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown and serves 5.9 million citizens in 40 Ohio counties. The commission screening candidates for the Toledo seat will be chaired by Nancy Rogers of Columbus. Ms. Rogers is a former Ohio Attorney General and former dean of the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University. Other commission members include Robin Bozian, of Marietta, an attorney with Washington County Legal Aid; Donald Brey, of Columbus, a partner at Chester, Wilcox & Saxbe; Al Gerhardstein, of Cincinnati, a partner at Gerhardstein & Branch; Sean Grayson, of Dayton, General Counsel to AFSCME Ohio Council 8; Ralph Harper, of Dayton, former Green County commissioner; Dave Hobson, of Springfield, a former Representative of Ohio’s 7th Congressional district; Nathaniel Jones, of Cincinnati, chief diversity and inclusion officer for Blank Rome and former member of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Ralph Kohnen, of Cincinnati, a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister; John Kulewicz, of Columbus, a partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease; Greg Lockhart, of Dayton, a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister and former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jill Meyer, of Cincinnati, member-in-charge of Frost Brown Todd’s Cincinnati office; Alvarene Owens, of Dayton, an independent practitioner specializing in civil claims; David Shroyer, of Columbus, member of Colley Shroyer & Abraham; Elizabeth Smith, of Columbus, a partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease; and Susan Tomasky, of Columbus, executive vice-president and general counsel to American Electric Power.

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