United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
57 judges profiled from their own signed orders: how each rules on motions, with the orders quoted. Court-wide standing orders ↓
Sarah Elizabeth Daggett Morrison
District judge, appointed by Donald Trump (Republican)
Thomas Michael RoseSenior status
District judge, appointed by George W. Bush (Republican)
John Weld Peck IIDeceased
District judge, appointed by John F. Kennedy (Democratic)
Edmund Albert Sargus Jr.
District judge, appointed by Bill Clinton (Democratic)
Lester LeFevre CecilDeceased
District judge, appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)
James L. GrahamSenior status
District judge, appointed by Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Michael R. Merz
Magistrate judge
Matthew Walden McFarland
District judge, appointed by Donald Trump (Republican)
John Weld PeckDeceased
District judge, appointed by Woodrow Wilson (Democratic)
Douglas Russell Cole
District judge, appointed by Donald Trump (Republican)
Robert A. SteinbergLeft this court 1996
Magistrate judge
Susan Judy DlottSenior status
District judge, appointed by Bill Clinton (Democratic)
Humphrey Howe LeavittDeceased
District judge, appointed by Andrew Jackson (Democratic)
Samuel Courter Morris Shimeall
Magistrate judge
George Read SageDeceased
District judge, appointed by Chester A. Arthur (Republican)
Philip Bergen SwingDeceased
District judge, appointed by Ulysses S. Grant (Republican)
Carl Bernard RubinDeceased
District judge, appointed by Richard Nixon (Republican)
Robert Morton DuncanDeceased
District judge, appointed by Richard Nixon (Republican)
Carl Andrew WeinmanDeceased
District judge, appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)
George Curtis SmithDeceased
District judge, appointed by Ronald Reagan (Republican)
John Elbert SaterDeceased
District judge, appointed by Theodore Roosevelt (Republican)
John H. DruffelDeceased
District judge, appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic)
Albert Clifton ThompsonDeceased
District judge, appointed by William McKinley (Republican)
David Stewart PorterDeceased
District judge, appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson (Democratic)
Howard Clark HollisterDeceased
District judge, appointed by William Howard Taft (Republican)
Joseph Peter KinnearyDeceased
District judge, appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson (Democratic)
Mell Gilbert UnderwoodDeceased
District judge, appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic)
Karen L. Litkovitz
Magistrate judge
Gregory Lynn FrostRetired 2016
District judge, appointed by George W. Bush (Republican)
Smith HickenlooperDeceased
District judge, appointed by Warren G. Harding (Republican)
Michael Harrison WatsonSenior status
District judge, appointed by George W. Bush (Republican)
Jeffery Paul Hopkins
District judge, appointed by Joe Biden (Democratic)
Stephanie K. Bowman
Magistrate judge
Timothy Seymour BlackSenior status
District judge, appointed by Barack Obama (Democratic)
Benson W. HoughDeceased
District judge, appointed by Calvin Coolidge (Republican)
Robert Reasoner NevinDeceased
District judge, appointed by Calvin Coolidge (Republican)
Peter B. Silvain, Jr.
Magistrate judge
S. Arthur SpiegelDeceased
District judge, appointed by Jimmy Carter (Democratic)
Walter H. RiceSenior status
District judge, appointed by Jimmy Carter (Democratic)
John David HolschuhDeceased
District judge, appointed by Jimmy Carter (Democratic)
Caroline Helen Gentry
Magistrate judge
Algenon Lamont Marbley
District judge, appointed by Bill Clinton (Democratic)
Michael Jay Newman
District judge, appointed by Donald Trump (Republican)
Michael Ryan BarrettSenior status
District judge, appointed by George W. Bush (Republican)
Timothy S. HoganLeft this court 2010
Magistrate judge
Sandra L. AmmannSenior status
District judge, appointed by George H. W. Bush (Republican)
Mark R. AbelLeft this court 2015
Magistrate judge
Herman J. WeberSenior status
District judge, appointed by Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Jack Sherman Jr.Left this court 2003
Magistrate judge
Terence P. Kemp
Magistrate judge
Sharon L. OvingtonLeft this court 2021
Magistrate judge
Chelsey M. Vascura
Magistrate judge
Kimberly A. Jolson
Magistrate judge
Norah McCann King
Magistrate judge
Elizabeth A. Preston DeaversLeft this court 2026
Magistrate judge
Burton PerlmanMoved to Bankr. S.D. Ohio 1976
Magistrate judge
J. Vincent Aug Jr.Left this court 1988
Magistrate judge
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Courts revise these, so confirm the current version before you file. The court's local rules ↗
- General Order 24-02 In Re: Procedures for Requesting, Filing, and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- U.S. District Court General Order No. 24-05 ↗
- General Order 23-03 In Re: Automatic Sealing and Procedures for Unsealing of Applications for Search Warrants, Pen Registers, Trap and Trace Devices, or Court Orders Under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d). ↗
Filing
Seek leave before filing a highly sensitive document; submit the request and proposed document in a sealed envelope marked “HIGHLY SENSITIVE DOCUMENT.”
“The request and the proposed HSD material shall be submitted to the Clerk’s Office in a sealed envelope marked ‘HIGHLY SENSITIVE DOCUMENT.’”
Sealing
After a warrant return is docketed, the government must move either to continue sealing with justification or to unseal the warrant case.
“Upon docketing the return of a Warrant, an attorney for the government shall submit either (1) a motion for the Warrant case to remain sealed indicating the justification for the motion, or (2) a motion to unseal the Warrant case”
Other
People entering a district courthouse are subject to security screening of themselves and their belongings.
“All persons and their belongings are subject to search by the United States Marshals Service while in these Facilities.”