Sara Elizabeth Lioi

Sara Elizabeth Lioi (born December 17, 1960) is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, while also serving as a judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Early life and education Born in Canton, Ohio, Lioi graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 and later from Ohio State University College of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1987.

Career Following law school graduation, 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, George 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 1998 and then re-elected for a six-year term in November 2002.

Federal judicial service On the recommendation of Senators George Voinovich and Mike DeWine, She was sworn in as chief judge on June 5, 2023.

Lioi oversaw the prosecution of Jimmy Dimora and others in the Cuyahoga County corruption case, sentencing Dimora to 28 years. The case was affirmed on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court declined to hear Dimora's further appeal.