Michael Harrison Watson (born November 7, 1956) is a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Education and career

Watson was born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

. He received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in 1983 and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Capital University Law School Capital University Law School is an American Bar Association#Accreditation of law schools, ABA-accredited private law school located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The law school is affiliated with Capital University, the oldest university in Centra ...

in 1987. He was a member of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

from 1975 to 1978 and was in the

Ohio Air National Guard The Ohio Air National Guard (OH ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Ohio, United States of America. It is, along with the Ohio Army National Guard, an element of the Ohio National Guard. As state militia units, the units in the Ohio Air ...

from 1978 to 1984. He rose to the rank of E5. Watson was a

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas from 1983 to 1988. He was in

private practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

from 1988 to 1991 and was chief legal counsel of the Ohio Department of Commerce from 1991 to 1992. He was a deputy chief legal counsel in the Office of the Governor of Ohio from 1992 to 1994 and was chief legal counsel from 1994 to 1995. Watson was a judge to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas from 1996 to 2003. He was a judge to the Tenth District Ohio Court of Appeal from 2003 to 2004.

Federal judicial service

President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

nominated Watson to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on April 6, 2004, to the seat vacated by Judge James L. Graham. He was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on September 7, 2004, he received his commission on September 10, 2004. Since 2018, Watson has presided over the Ohio State University abuse scandal lawsuits, which has stalled in mediation for over 3 years and favored OSU defendants In September 2021, it was revealed that Judge Watson failed to disclose that his wife has a licensing agreement with the university to sell OSU flags; the judge offered to hear arguments requesting his recusal. Watson is also an adjunct faculty member at OSU, which would typically be a disqualification from presiding over his employer. The plaintiffs and Strauss survivors in these lawsuits are frustrated with the Judge and OSU. However, the Sixth Circuit later ruled that none of these grounds required Judge Watson's recusal. The case was remanded, and Judge Watson continues to preside over the matters. https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/23a0030p-06.pdf

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Michael Harrison 1956 births Living people 21st-century American judges Capital University Law School alumni Judges of the Ohio District Courts of Appeals Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Ohio National Guard personnel Ohio state court judges Ohio State University alumni Politicians from Akron, Ohio United States Air Force non-commissioned officers United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush