U.S. Senate confirms Cincinnati's Jeffery Hopkins to federal bench

The U.S. Senate on Thursday afternoon, by a 64-32 vote, confirmed Cincinnati judge Jeffery Hopkins to be a U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of Ohio.

Hopkins fills the vacancy created by U.S. District Judge Timothy Black who in May took senior status, officials said. Black is based in Cincinnati. The federal Southern District of Ohio also has judges in Columbus and Dayton.

Hopkins has been a federal bankruptcy judge since 1996. He previously was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio from 1990 to 1993. He was also an associate at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP (now Squire Patton Boggs) from 1987 to 1990, according to a statement from the White House.

He is a graduate of Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College.

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Ohio's senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Rob Portman, jointly recommended Hopkins for the nomination, and earlier this week urged quick consideration by the U.S. Senate.

He is President Joe Biden's 95th judicial nominee, and signals a move to have a more diversified federal bench. The previous two federal judges appointed in Cincinnati, Douglas Cole and Matthew McFarland, were white men nominated by former President Donald Trump.

'Judge Hopkins is very experienced, and brings ethnic diversity to the federal bench'

Carl Tobias, the Williams Chair in Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, said Hopkins will make an excellent judge based on his qualifications.

"Judge Hopkins is very experienced, and brings ethnic diversity to the federal bench," Tobias told The Enquirer Thursday following the vote. "Even some very conservative senators voted for him and that is a testament to his experience and the confidence that he will be a great judge."

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He added that Hopkins also has private practice experience with a highly regarded law firm and public service as an an assistant U.S. attorney, which gives him the criminal law experience that federal district judges must possess.

"He has 15 years of experience as a bankruptcy judge – a quarter of a century worth of experience – that's a long time," Tobias said. "It's great having somebody like that joining the district judges."

Judge Jeffery Hopkins has bipartisan support of Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, Sherrod Brown

Tobias explained that it was important during the confirmation process for Hopkins that he had the bipartisan support of both Ohio senators.

“It was an honor to recommend Judge Jeffery Hopkins to serve in the Southern District of Ohio. His swift confirmation by the full Senate is a testament to his qualifications,” Brown said in a statement to The Enquirer.

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Portman also released a statement to The Enquirer, saying he was pleased with the confirmation.

“Judge Hopkins has served the people of the Southern District honorably for several decades on the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio and at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, and I know that he will continue this tradition of dedicated service,” Portman said.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: US Senate confirms Cincinnati's Jeffery Hopkins to federal bench