Let's talk 6th Circuit! Forum

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Former 6CA clerk here. Do you have questions about specific judges? I might be able to help. Off the top of my head, I haven't heard horror stories about any of the Ohio or Kentucky judges. Murphy doesn't share bench memos, so you're going to work harder in his chambers. Boggs and Martin (now deceased) had a legendary falling out that led to some weirdness, but I can't say if Boggs is difficult or if that was just a unique situation. (I didn't interact at all with his clerks or him.)

In terms of the judges I met (and whose clerks I met), I think very highly of Cole, Readler, Siler, Nalbandian, and Sutton as people. I also liked Rogers and Murphy. Thapar is somewhat arrogant and a tad thoughtless (I don't think it's malicious; he gets wrapped up in his own world), but it's hard to argue with the prestige of that clerkship or his accomplishments.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Former 6CA clerk here. Do you have questions about specific judges? I might be able to help. Off the top of my head, I haven't heard horror stories about any of the Ohio or Kentucky judges. Murphy doesn't share bench memos, so you're going to work harder in his chambers. Boggs and Martin (now deceased) had a legendary falling out that led to some weirdness, but I can't say if Boggs is difficult or if that was just a unique situation. (I didn't interact at all with his clerks or him.)

In terms of the judges I met (and whose clerks I met), I think very highly of Cole, Readler, Siler, Nalbandian, and Sutton as people. I also liked Rogers and Murphy. Thapar is somewhat arrogant and a tad thoughtless (I don't think it's malicious; he gets wrapped up in his own world), but it's hard to argue with the prestige of that clerkship or his accomplishments.

Boggs has a reputation as an excellent boss at Chicago, which is his biggest source for clerks. I’ll note the question you’re responding to asked about district judges, though.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Former 6CA clerk here. Do you have questions about specific judges? I might be able to help. Off the top of my head, I haven't heard horror stories about any of the Ohio or Kentucky judges. Murphy doesn't share bench memos, so you're going to work harder in his chambers. Boggs and Martin (now deceased) had a legendary falling out that led to some weirdness, but I can't say if Boggs is difficult or if that was just a unique situation. (I didn't interact at all with his clerks or him.)

In terms of the judges I met (and whose clerks I met), I think very highly of Cole, Readler, Siler, Nalbandian, and Sutton as people. I also liked Rogers and Murphy. Thapar is somewhat arrogant and a tad thoughtless (I don't think it's malicious; he gets wrapped up in his own world), but it's hard to argue with the prestige of that clerkship or his accomplishments.

Boggs has a reputation as an excellent boss at Chicago, which is his biggest source for clerks. I’ll note the question you’re responding to asked about district judges, though.

My mistake. Overlooked that.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Former 6CA clerk here. Do you have questions about specific judges? I might be able to help. Off the top of my head, I haven't heard horror stories about any of the Ohio or Kentucky judges. Murphy doesn't share bench memos, so you're going to work harder in his chambers. Boggs and Martin (now deceased) had a legendary falling out that led to some weirdness, but I can't say if Boggs is difficult or if that was just a unique situation. (I didn't interact at all with his clerks or him.)

In terms of the judges I met (and whose clerks I met), I think very highly of Cole, Readler, Siler, Nalbandian, and Sutton as people. I also liked Rogers and Murphy. Thapar is somewhat arrogant and a tad thoughtless (I don't think it's malicious; he gets wrapped up in his own world), but it's hard to argue with the prestige of that clerkship or his accomplishments.

Boggs has a reputation as an excellent boss at Chicago, which is his biggest source for clerks. I’ll note the question you’re responding to asked about district judges, though.

My mistake. Overlooked that.

No worries. I appreciate the intel on the circuit judges too. I imagine there is more there than with any of the district judges. I suppose that no news about them is better than bad news.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Of democratic appointees, I know clerks who spoke highly of their clerkship experiences with the following judges: Marbley, Gwin (who just went on senior status), and Sargus

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Of democratic appointees, I know clerks who spoke highly of their clerkship experiences with the following judges: Marbley, Gwin (who just went on senior status), and Sargus

On the conservative side, Phil Calabrese and Doug Cole seem like they'll be the superstars of the Ohio district court bench. Ben Beaton in Kentucky is a standout as well.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Of democratic appointees, I know clerks who spoke highly of their clerkship experiences with the following judges: Marbley, Gwin (who just went on senior status), and Sargus

On the conservative side, Phil Calabrese and Doug Cole seem like they'll be the superstars of the Ohio district court bench. Ben Beaton in Kentucky is a standout as well.

Interesting. Cole is around where I’m looking, but it seems that he hires some standout people.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Of democratic appointees, I know clerks who spoke highly of their clerkship experiences with the following judges: Marbley, Gwin (who just went on senior status), and Sargus

On the conservative side, Phil Calabrese and Doug Cole seem like they'll be the superstars of the Ohio district court bench. Ben Beaton in Kentucky is a standout as well.

Interesting. Cole is around where I’m looking, but it seems that he hires some standout people.

Yeah he gets some very good applicants. His first class is 2/3 former Sixth Circuit clerks.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Of democratic appointees, I know clerks who spoke highly of their clerkship experiences with the following judges: Marbley, Gwin (who just went on senior status), and Sargus

On the conservative side, Phil Calabrese and Doug Cole seem like they'll be the superstars of the Ohio district court bench. Ben Beaton in Kentucky is a standout as well.

Interesting. Cole is around where I’m looking, but it seems that he hires some standout people.

Yeah he gets some very good applicants. His first class is 2/3 former Sixth Circuit clerks.

Cole’s another one in the Chicago network and our clerkship people highly rec him. Haven’t actually talked to a Cole clerk but know a future one who took it without hesitation.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Of democratic appointees, I know clerks who spoke highly of their clerkship experiences with the following judges: Marbley, Gwin (who just went on senior status), and Sargus

On the conservative side, Phil Calabrese and Doug Cole seem like they'll be the superstars of the Ohio district court bench. Ben Beaton in Kentucky is a standout as well.

The Beaton clerk I know of is Fed Soc and coming off a semi-feeder. Beaton himself is a very rare conservative RBG clerk.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Of democratic appointees, I know clerks who spoke highly of their clerkship experiences with the following judges: Marbley, Gwin (who just went on senior status), and Sargus

On the conservative side, Phil Calabrese and Doug Cole seem like they'll be the superstars of the Ohio district court bench. Ben Beaton in Kentucky is a standout as well.

Interesting. Cole is around where I’m looking, but it seems that he hires some standout people.

Yeah he gets some very good applicants. His first class is 2/3 former Sixth Circuit clerks.

That is about what I expected. He's definitely out of reach for me, but there are quite a few judges and recent appointees I ought to look at. I haven't really heard bad things about any in OH/KY, so that's good.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Of democratic appointees, I know clerks who spoke highly of their clerkship experiences with the following judges: Marbley, Gwin (who just went on senior status), and Sargus

On the conservative side, Phil Calabrese and Doug Cole seem like they'll be the superstars of the Ohio district court bench. Ben Beaton in Kentucky is a standout as well.

The Beaton clerk I know of is Fed Soc and coming off a semi-feeder. Beaton himself is a very rare conservative RBG clerk.

All three are also great people. A clerkship with any of them would be circuit-caliber.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Have not heard of anyone with a particularly bad reputation. In WDKY, Hale is known as a demanding boss and his clerks work a lot of hours. But he is a great judge and his clerks generally seem to have positive things to say. The non-Louisville judges (Stivers, Russell, McKinley) are known as being the "best" to work for. They garner a lot of loyalty from their clerks. Ditto Reeves and Caldwell in EDKY.

In SD Ohio, I'd consider Marbley and Sargus the gold standard, but that could be personal preference. Again, no bad options so far as I could tell.

I admittedly know very little about Cole and Beaton, the new judges in SDOH and WDKY. But what I've heard about their hiring matches prior posters - looking for ideological alignment, deemphasizing regional ties, want appellate clerkships.

I know next to nothing about NDOH, except Adams in Akron is as brutal to work for as you'd expect, given his frequent embarrassing antics behind the bench. (See, e.g., https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zo ... th-exam-he).

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Have not heard of anyone with a particularly bad reputation. In WDKY, Hale is known as a demanding boss and his clerks work a lot of hours. But he is a great judge and his clerks generally seem to have positive things to say. The non-Louisville judges (Stivers, Russell, McKinley) are known as being the "best" to work for. They garner a lot of loyalty from their clerks. Ditto Reeves and Caldwell in EDKY.

In SD Ohio, I'd consider Marbley and Sargus the gold standard, but that could be personal preference. Again, no bad options so far as I could tell.

I admittedly know very little about Cole and Beaton, the new judges in SDOH and WDKY. But what I've heard about their hiring matches prior posters - looking for ideological alignment, deemphasizing regional ties, want appellate clerkships.

I know next to nothing about NDOH, except Adams in Akron is as brutal to work for as you'd expect, given his frequent embarrassing antics behind the bench. (See, e.g., https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zo ... th-exam-he).

Thank you for the excellent write up. I’ll be with an SDOH judge that you didn’t list, but I am happy to hear that there is no one to worry about. I’m really looking forward to it.

[Anonymous User]

Fwiw the Cole clerk I know of has no ties to Ohio, but is quite liberal. Too early to tell unless someone actually in that courthouse chimes in probably.

[clementine343]

6th circuit folks, any idea if Judge Stranch is still hiring for 2022?

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Have not heard of anyone with a particularly bad reputation. In WDKY, Hale is known as a demanding boss and his clerks work a lot of hours. But he is a great judge and his clerks generally seem to have positive things to say. The non-Louisville judges (Stivers, Russell, McKinley) are known as being the "best" to work for. They garner a lot of loyalty from their clerks. Ditto Reeves and Caldwell in EDKY.

In SD Ohio, I'd consider Marbley and Sargus the gold standard, but that could be personal preference. Again, no bad options so far as I could tell.

I admittedly know very little about Cole and Beaton, the new judges in SDOH and WDKY. But what I've heard about their hiring matches prior posters - looking for ideological alignment, deemphasizing regional ties, want appellate clerkships.

I know next to nothing about NDOH, except Adams in Akron is as brutal to work for as you'd expect, given his frequent embarrassing antics behind the bench. (See, e.g., https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zo ... th-exam-he).

Just did a deep dive on Adam. Oof. What compels someone to even take a clerkship with a judge like that?

Good to hear he’s unique in the 6th.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Chief Judge Reeves is the only person I would think about avoiding... he can be quite prickly.

I will also say that the Eastern District might have the best workload--it's neither too busy nor too quiet.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on Ohio/KY district judges? Anyone to avoid?

Chief Judge Reeves is the only person I would think about avoiding... he can be quite prickly.

I will also say that the Eastern District might have the best workload--it's neither too busy nor too quiet.

Is he difficult to work for because he’s demanding or just unpleasant?

And that’s good to hear. I have a friend who is going to be there soon, although I wonder if there will be a deluge of trials when they start.

[Anonymous User]

Any movement from Batchelder? Or any idea when she usually moves?

[clementine343]

Looks like there was some movement with Stranch today -- her OSCAR was updated to say she now has 3 instead of 4 openings for 2022-2023

[Anonymous User]

Any movement from Batchelder? Or any idea when she usually moves?

To the extent there is a "usually," it seems to be ~1-1.5 years before the clerkship starts. It would not be surprising if she moved soon-ish for her 2022 clerks, if she hasn't already.

[Anonymous User]

Looks like there was some movement with Stranch today -- her OSCAR was updated to say she now has 3 instead of 4 openings for 2022-2023

Where are you seeing this? When I look at her OSCAR posting, it still says "number of positions: 4" and the description still says "Judge Stranch has four positions open for the 2022-2023 term with a start date of mid-August." Or am I just missing something?

[clementine343]

Looks like there was some movement with Stranch today -- her OSCAR was updated to say she now has 3 instead of 4 openings for 2022-2023

Where are you seeing this? When I look at her OSCAR posting, it still says "number of positions: 4" and the description still says "Judge Stranch has four positions open for the 2022-2023 term with a start date of mid-August." Or am I just missing something?

I have OSCAR notifications turned on for her, so I got an email indicating she had updated her chambers information. Click on her name, not the position description, and it says under additional information "Judge Stranch has three positions open for the 2022-2023 term with a start date of mid-August."