Benita Y. Pearson

Benita Y. Pearson
Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
Incumbent
Assumed office December 27, 2010
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Peter C. Economus
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
In office August 2008 – December 27, 2010
Personal details
Born	February 1963 (age 61) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Education	Georgetown University (BS) Cleveland State University (JD)

Benita Yalonda Pearson (born February 1963) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and formerly a United States magistrate judge on the same court.

Early life and education

Born and raised in Cleveland,[1] Pearson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Georgetown University in 1985 and then earned a Juris Doctor from the Cleveland State University College of Law in 1995.[2][3]

Career

From 1985 to 1992, Pearson worked for BP, first as a corporate accountant from 1985 to 1987 and then as a supervisor of retail marketing accounting from 1987 to 1990 and then in retail sales from 1990 to 1992. From 1992 to 1994, Pearson worked as a law clerk for a Cleveland law firm, and from 1995 to 1996, Pearson served as a litigation associate for a Cleveland law firm. From 1996 to 1998, Pearson served as a law clerk for Judge John Michael Manos of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.[2] From 1998 until 2000, Pearson served as a general litigation associate for Jones Day Reavis & Pogue in Cleveland.[2] From 2000 to 2008, Pearson served as an assistant United States attorney in Cleveland.[2]

Federal judicial service

In August 2008, Pearson became a United States magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.[2][3]

In July 2009, Pearson was recommended to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by both Ohio Senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican George Voinovich.[1] On December 3, 2009, President Barack Obama formally nominated Pearson to serve on the Northern District of Ohio.[2] Pearson was chosen to fill the seat vacated by Judge Peter C. Economus, who assumed senior status on July 3, 2009.[1] The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary reported Pearson's nomination to the Senate on February 11, 2010. On December 21, 2010, her nomination was confirmed by the Senate by a 56–39 vote, with George Voinovich of Ohio casting the lone Republican affirmative vote.[4][5] She received her commission on December 27, 2010.[3] She became the first African-American woman to hold a federal judgeship in Ohio.[5][6]

See also

• List of African-American federal judges
• List of African-American jurists
• List of Cleveland State University College of Law alumni
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Ohio

References

1. Mike Tobin, Benita Pearson recommended to federal judgeship, The Plain Dealer (July 21, 2009).
2. President Obama Nominates Nancy Freudenthal, Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. and Judge Benita Pearson to Serve on the District Court Bench, whitehouse.gov (December 4, 2009).
3. Benita Y. Pearson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
4. On the Nomination (Confirmation Benita Y. Pearson, of Ohio to be U.S. District Judge), senate.gov December 21, 2010.
5. David Skolnick, First black female federal judge in Ohio to serve in Youngstown, The Vindicator (December 22, 2010).
6. James F. McCarty, Cleveland woman confirmed by U.S. Senate to federal bench in Youngstown, The Plain Dealer (December 21, 2010).

External links

• Benita Y. Pearson at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Benita Y. Pearson at Ballotpedia

Legal offices
Preceded by Peter C. Economus	Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio 2010–present	Incumbent