Today, U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Gaughan completed her six-year term as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Judge Gaughan was the first woman to be Chief Judge of this District. She was appointed to the federal bench in 1995 by President William Jefferson Clinton. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has court locations in Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown and serves 5.9 million citizens in 40 Ohio counties.

Judge Gaughan stated, “It truly has been an honor and privilege to serve in the role of Chief Judge, and I consider it to be the highlight of my legal career. I am grateful to my wonderful colleagues and exceptional employees who are committed to making our system of justice the best known to the world.” Judge Gaughan will continue to be a sitting judge on the federal bench.

Judge Gaughan presently serves on the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability of the United States Judicial Conference, the policy-making body of the federal judiciary, which is chaired by the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Previously, she served on the Federal-State Jurisdiction Committee.

Prior to Judge Gaughan's appointment to the federal bench, she served as Judge with the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas from 1987-1995. Prior to her service on the bench, Judge Gaughan was an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in the Major Trial Division of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. She was also in private civil practice in Cleveland, and was an Adjunct Professor of Law at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. She received her B.A. degree from St. Mary's College in 1975 and her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1978.

Judge Gaughan will be succeeded by Judge Sara Lioi, who was appointed to the court by President George W. Bush in 2007.

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For further information, please contact Mary Doubrava, Judicial Assistant to Chief Judge Patricia A. Gaughan, at (216) 357-7210.