WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced the Senate confirmation of Jeffrey J. Helmick, of Toledo, to serve on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. In May 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Helmick following a recommendation made by Brown and then-Sen. George V. Voinovich in August 2010. Helmick will fill the vacancy created by Judge James Carr, who assumed senior status on June 1, 2010. Helmick was confirmed tonight by a vote of 62-36.

“Jeffrey Helmick’s confirmation today was long overdue. He is a skilled lawyer, an outstanding professional of the bar, and an eminently qualified nominee for the bench,” Brown said. “Jeff was recommended by a bipartisan judicial selection commission in Ohio and has earned widespread support from our state’s legal community. I am proud to congratulate Jeff on his confirmation today by the Senate, and I am confident that he will serve with honor and impartiality as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.”

Helmick’s nomination was based on the recommendation of a bipartisan judicial selection commission convened by Brown and Voinovich. The senators each nominated leaders in the legal community to serve on a 17-member bipartisan judicial advisory commission; to prevent any potential conflicts of interest, commission members residing in the Southern District of Ohio screened applicants for the Toledo vacancy.

Mr. Helmick received his J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution. He served on the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education and is a member of the U.S. Attorney’s Advisory Council for the Northern District of Ohio. 

U.S. District Court judges are nominated by the President of the United States and must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

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