Northern District, Ohio - Judge Patricia A. Gaughan, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, announced that Magistrate Judge David A. Ruiz and Bridget Meehan Brennan, Esq. were sworn in today to serve as United States District Judges in Cleveland. Judges Ruiz and Brennan were nominated by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. to serve life terms. The newly appointed judges replace District Judges Oliver and Polster, who assumed senior status in February 2021.
Judge Ruiz has served the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio since October 1, 2016, when he was appointed as a United States Magistrate Judge. He joined the Court with 16 years of experience in both civil and criminal litigation. Prior to his appointment, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio beginning in 2010. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Judge Ruiz served in the Litigation Department of Calfee Halter & Griswold, LLP in Cleveland, Ohio for 10 years. He received his B.A. from The Ohio State University in 1997, where he also earned his J.D. in 2000. He was inducted into Kaleidoscope Magazine’s Cuarenta/Cuarenta “40 under 40” Class of 2006, honoring Hispanic leaders in Northeast Ohio for community service and achievements.
Judge Brennan recently served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. Since she first joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2007, she had served in the positions of First Assistant United States Attorney, Chief of the Criminal Division, Chief of the Civil Rights Unit, and Ethics Advisor. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she worked as a litigation associate at Baker Hostetler in Cleveland. Judge Brennan was appointed to the Northern District of Ohio’s Advisory Committee and served as Co-Chair of its Subcommittee on Criminal Rules. She earned her B.A. from John Carroll University in 1997 and her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 2000.
Chief Judge Gaughan said, “We are very excited to have David Ruiz and Bridget Brennan join the Court as District Judges. They have the judicial temperament, intelligence, work ethic, and commitment to justice to be invaluable assets to our Bench.”
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has court locations in Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown and serves 6 million citizens in the 40 northern most counties in Ohio.
###