Judge Patricia A. Gaughan, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, announced that Judge J. Philip Calabrese was sworn in on December 5, 2020 to serve as a United States District Judge in Cleveland. Judge Calabrese was nominated by President Donald J. Trump to serve a life term. He replaces District Judge Christopher A. Boyko, who assumed senior status in January 2020.

Judge Calabrese earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree, summa cum laude, from the College of the Holy Cross in 1993, and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2000. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece.

In June 2019, Governor Mark DeWine appointed Judge Calabrese to serve as a Judge in the General Division on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, replacing Judge Pamela A. Barker when she was sworn in as a United States District Judge in Cleveland. For the eighteen years preceding his appointment to the Court of Common Pleas, he worked in private practice, primarily in civil litigation and particularly in representing various industries. Upon graduating law school, he served as a law clerk for Judge Alice M. Batchelder on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Judge Calabrese is a member of the Federal Bar Association, Northern District of Ohio Chapter, where he served as President in 2017-2018. He is also associated with the Bipartisan Political Education Project, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Community Legal Services of Cleveland, John M. Manos Inn of Court, Justinian Forum, Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association, Ohio Innocence Project, Ohio State Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Foundation, The Birchwood School, The Cleveland Orchestra Advisory Council, The Club at Key Center, and Trust for Public Land.