The U.S. Senate confirmed James Knepp to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by a 64–24 vote on November 10, 2020. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts.
After Knepp receives his federal judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the 11-member court will have four Republican-appointed judges, six Democrat-appointed judges, and one vacancy. Knepp will join one other judge appointed by President Trump.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed 221 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees since January 2017.
Knepp was a federal magistrate judge for the Northern District of Ohio from 2010 to 2020. Before that, he worked in private practice in Toledo, Ohio, with the law firm of Robison, Curphey & O’Connell, LLC. He served as a law clerk to the late Judge John W. Potter from 1992 to 1994. Knepp earned a B.A., magna cum laude, from Mount Union College in 1986, an M.A. from Bowling Green State University in 1987, and a J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Toledo College of Law in 1992.
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