United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (in case citations, S.D. Ohio) is one of two United States district courts in Ohio and includes forty-eight of the state's eighty-eight counties—everything from the Columbus area southward. Appeals from the court are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at Cincinnati (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The United States Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Ohio represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. , the United States attorney is Kenneth L. Parker.

Divisions
The court is divided into two divisions.

Eastern Division
The Eastern Division, which sits in the Joseph P. Kinneary United States Courthouse at Columbus, serves the counties of Athens, Belmont, Coshocton, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, Licking, Logan, Madison, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Union, Vinton, and Washington.

Western Division
The Western Division sits at both Cincinnati and Dayton. Cases from the counties of Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland, Lawrence, Scioto, and Warren are heard at Cincinnati in the Potter Stewart United States Courthouse. Cases from the counties of Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Shelby are heard at Dayton.

History
The United States District Court for the District of Ohio was established on February 19, 1803, by. The act of authorized one judgeship for the court. The district court in Ohio, not being assigned to a judicial circuit, was granted the same jurisdiction as U.S. circuit courts, except in appeals and writs of error, which were the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. By the act of February 24, 1807,, the authority of the Ohio district court to exercise the jurisdiction of a U.S. circuit court was repealed, and Ohio was assigned to the newly organized Seventh Circuit. It also provided for a U.S. circuit court for the District of Ohio. The District was subdivided into Northern and Southern Districts on February 10, 1855, by. The district judge serving the District of Ohio, Humphrey H. Leavitt, was reassigned to the Southern District of Ohio.

On July 23, 1866, by, Congress reorganized the circuits and assigned Ohio to the Sixth Circuit. Additional judgeships were created in 1910, 1937, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1984, and 1990.