Michael Watson (Ohio)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Michael Watson
Image of Michael Watson

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Tenure

2004 - Present

Years in position

20

Education

Bachelor's

The Ohio State University, 1983

Law

Capital University School of Law, 1987

Personal
Birthplace
Akron, Ohio

float:right;
border:1px solid #FFB81F;
background-color: white;
width: 250px;
font-size: .9em;
margin-bottom:0px;

} .infobox p { margin-bottom: 0; } .widget-row { display: inline-block; width: 100%; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; } .widget-row.heading { font-size: 1.2em; } .widget-row.value-only { text-align: center; background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.value-only.white { background-color: #f9f9f9; } .widget-row.value-only.black { background-color: #f9f9f9; color: black; } .widget-row.Democratic { background-color: #003388; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Republican { background-color: red; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Independent, .widget-row.Nonpartisan, .widget-row.Constitution { background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Libertarian { background-color: #f9d334; color: black; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Green { background-color: green; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-key { width: 43%; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; vertical-align: top; font-weight: bold; } .widget-value { width: 57%; float: right; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; word-wrap: break-word; } .widget-img { width: 150px; display: block; margin: auto; } .clearfix { clear: both; }


Michael Watson is a federal judge with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. He joined the court in 2004 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.[1]

Early life and education

A native of Akron, Ohio, Watson graduated from Ohio State University with his bachelor's degree in 1983 and from Capital University School of Law with his J.D. in 1987.[1]

Military service

Watson served in the U.S. Air Force from 1975 to 1978 and in the Ohio Air National Guard from 1978 to 1984.[1]

Professional career

  • 1994-1995: Chief legal counsel
  • 1992-1994: Deputy chief legal counsel

Judicial career

Southern District of Ohio

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Michael H. Watson
Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Progress
Confirmed 154 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: April 6, 2004
ApprovedAABA Rating: Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified
Questionnaire:
ApprovedAHearing: June 4, 2004
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: July 8, 2004 
ApprovedAConfirmed: September 7, 2004
ApprovedAVote: Voice vote

Watson was nominated by President George W. Bush on April 6, 2004, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio vacated by Judge James Graham. The American Bar Association rated Watson Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Watson's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 4, 2004, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on July 8, 2004. Watson was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on September 7, 2004, and he received his commission on September 10, 2004.[1][2][3]

Noteworthy cases

Circulator employer identification deemed constitutional (2014)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Libertarian Party of Ohio, et al. v. Husted, 2:13-cv-953)

On March 7, 2014, Secretary of State Jon Husted indicated that he had removed the Libertarian Party's statewide candidates from the party's primary ballot (including gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl). Husted claimed that the paid petitioner who gathered signatures on behalf of the Libertarian Party failed to identify his or her employer on the petition.[4] The Libertarian Party filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent Husted from printing the primary ballots without the names of the party's statewide candidates. The party argued that prior precedent prevented the Secretary of State from disqualifying candidates on the grounds that Husted disqualified the party's 2014 statewide slate. The Libertarian Party further contended that it is unconstitutional to require a circulator to identify his or her employer or to treat a paid circulator differently from a volunteer circulator.[5] Watson scheduled a hearing on the matter for March 11, 2014.[6] On March 19, 2014, Watson ruled that the circulator law is indeed constitutional, thereby reaffirming Husted's decision to remove the Libertarian candidates from the ballot.

Residency requirement for political petition circulators blocked (2013)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Citizens in Charge, Inc., et al and Libertarian Party of Ohio, et al v. Husted, 2:13-cv-00935)

On November 13, 2013, Judge Watson granted a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of Ohio's Senate Bill 47, a measure which sought to prohibit non-residents from collecting political petition signatures, except in the case of presidential candidates. S.B. 47 was signed into law by Ohio Governor John Kasich in March 2013, and enacted as of June 2013. In the underlying case, separate suits were filed in September 2013 by conservative and libertarian political groups, each contesting the constitutionality of the bill as a violation of their First Amendment rights. In his decision granting the preliminary injunction, Watson noted that S.B. 47 not only substantially burdened core political speech, but also that even a temporary violation of First Amendment rights constituted irreparable harm.[7]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge Michael H. Watson," accessed May 5, 2016.
  2. ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1486 — Michael H. Watson — The Judiciary," accessed May 13, 2017
  3. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 108th Congress," accessed May 13, 2017
  4. ↑ Ballot Access News "Ohio Secretary of State Removes Libertarian Party Statewide Candidates from the Libertarian Primary Ballot," March 7, 2014
  5. ↑ Ballot Access News "Ohio Libertarian Party Files Strong New Legal Argument in Existing Federal Ballot Access Concerning Primary Ballot Access for Its Statewide Nominees," March 8, 2014
  6. ↑ Ballot Access News "U.S. District Court Sets Hearing in Ohio Libertarian Primary Ballot Access Lawsuit," March 10, 2014
  7. ↑ Northeast Ohio Media Group, "Federal judge blocks enforcement of new state restrictions on petition gatherers," November 14, 2013

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
2004-Present		 Succeeded by
-


Ohio courts

Federal courts:

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio

State courts:

Ohio Supreme Court • Ohio District Courts of Appeal • Ohio Courts of Common Pleas • Ohio County Courts • Ohio Municipal Courts • Ohio Court of Claims

State resources:

Courts in Ohio • Ohio judicial elections • Judicial selection in Ohio

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Michael_Watson_(Ohio)&oldid=9803133"