Douglas R. Cole

Douglas Russell Cole (born 1964) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Education

Cole earned his Bachelor of Arts from Ripon College and his Bachelor of Engineering, with honors, from the University of Wisconsin. He obtained his Juris Doctor, with high honors, from the University of Chicago Law School.

Career

Upon graduation from law school, Cole served as a law clerk to Judge Frank H. Easterbrook of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. From 2002 to 2006, he served as Solicitor General of Ohio in the Office of the Ohio Attorney General. In that role, he briefed and argued cases in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on behalf of the state of Ohio. On June 26, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On July 18, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 16–6 vote. On December 3, 2019, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 62–29 vote. On December 4, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 63–30 vote. He received his judicial commission on December 5, 2019.