WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mike DeWine (R-OH) and George Voinovich (R-OH) today applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee for voting to approve the nomination Judge Sara Lioi, of Canton, for the position of U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Ohio and urge the full Senate to confirm her nomination. The senators recommended Judge Lioi to President Bush in April.

“I am pleased that my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee joined me in voting for Judge Lioi, and I am confident she is prepared to serve on the federal bench,” said Senator DeWine, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Her work in private practice and her judicial service on the state level give Judge Lioi the experience she needs to excel as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Ohio, and I urge the full Senate to confirm her for this position.”

“I applaud my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee for approving the president’s nomination of Judge Lioi and sending her nomination to the full Senate,” Sen. Voinovich said. “Judge Lioi is well-prepared to serve on the bench in the Northern District of Ohio and she deserves a speedy confirmation.”

Judge Lioi joined the law firm of Day, Ketterer, Raley, Wright & Rybolt, Ltd. in the fall of 1987 and was promoted to partner in that firm in December 1993. In November 1997, during his second term as governor, Voinovich appointed Lioi as a judge in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, Central Division. She was elected to a four-year term in November of 1998 and then re-elected for a six-year term in November 2002.

She graduated in 1983 from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and continued her education at The Ohio State University, receiving her Juris Doctor degree in 1987.

If confirmed by the full Senate, Judge Lioi will fill a position that was vacated in February by Judge Lesley Wells.

-- END --