Sara Elizabeth Lioi
American judge (born 1960)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sara Elizabeth Lioi (born December 17, 1960)[1] is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, while also serving as a judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Sara Lioi | |
|---|---|
Lioi in 2008 | |
| Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio | |
| Assumed office June 5, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Patricia Anne Gaughan |
| Judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court | |
| Assumed office May 19, 2023 | |
| Appointed by | John Roberts |
| Preceded by | Rudolph Contreras |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio | |
| Assumed office March 14, 2007 | |
| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Lesley B. Wells |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 17, 1960 Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Education | Bowling Green State University (BA) Ohio State University (JD) |
Early life and education
Born in Canton, Ohio, Lioi graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 and later from Ohio State University College of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1987.
Career
Following law school graduation, Lioi joined the law firm of Day, Ketterer, Raley, Wright & Rybolt, Ltd. in the fall of 1987 and was promoted to partner in that firm in December 1993. In November 1997, during his second term as Governor, George Voinovich appointed Lioi as a judge in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, Central Division. She was elected to a four-year term in November 1998 and then re-elected for a six-year term in November 2002.[2]
Federal judicial service
On the recommendation of Senators George Voinovich and Mike DeWine,[2] Lioi was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by President George W. Bush on January 9, 2007, to a seat vacated by Lesley B. Wells as Wells took senior status. Lioi was confirmed by the Senate on March 8, 2007 and received her commission on March 14, 2007.[3] She was sworn in as chief judge on June 5, 2023.[4][5]
Lioi oversaw the prosecution of Jimmy Dimora and others in the Cuyahoga County corruption case, sentencing Dimora to 28 years.[6] The case was affirmed on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court declined to hear Dimora's further appeal.[7]