Trump nominates judge for Ohio district

President Donald Trump Wednesday nominated Matthew W. McFarland to serve as District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

The district has court locations in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton and serves more than 5 million Ohioans in 48 counties.

McFarland, currently a judge on the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals, is also an adjunct professor for Shawnee State University. He was elected to Ohio’s Fourth District Court of Appeals in 2004, and re-elected in 2010 and 2016.

McFarland previously taught constitutional law at Capital University and served as the Magistrate in Scioto County Common Pleas Court Probate/Juvenile Division as well as chairman of the Ohio Association of Magistrates, Juvenile Section.

Before serving as a judge, McFarland served as Scioto County Assistant Prosecutor and acted as Special Counsel for the Ohio Attorney General.

McFarland was one of 13 judicial nominations Trump made Wednesday, and the nomination came just after the Senate took up the nominations of another round of judicial nominees. He also nominated one U.S. attorney and two U.S. marshals Wednesday.

McFarland, a native of Wheelersburg, is a graduate of Capital University and Capital University Law School.

He was recommended for the job by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, in September 2017 and now must be confirmed by the full Senate. In a statement recommending him, Portman called McFarland “a dedicated public servant” with an “esteemed reputation.”