Matthew Walden McFarland (born August 5, 1967) is a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and former Judge of the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals.

Education

McFarland received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

, ''cum laude'', from

Capital University Capital University (Capital, Cap, or CU) is a private university in Bexley, Ohio. Capital was founded as the Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio in 1830, and later was associated with that synod's successor, the Ame ...

, and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Capital University Law School Capital University Law School is an American Bar Association#Accreditation of law schools, ABA-accredited private law school located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The law school is affiliated with Capital University, the oldest university in Centra ...

."President Donald J. Trump Announces Eighteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Eighteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Thirteenth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees" White House, October 10, 2018

Legal and academic career

Prior to joining the bench, McFarland was a

Scioto County Scioto County is a county located along the Ohio River in the south central region of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 74,008. Its county seat is Portsmouth. The county was founded March 24, 1804, from Adams C ...

Assistant Prosecutor and acted as Special Counsel for the

Ohio Attorney General The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state, State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost. History The office ...

. He was also a Licking County Assistant County Prosecutor. He previously served as the Magistrate in Scioto County Common Pleas Court Probate/Juvenile Division and as Chairman of the Ohio Association of Magistrates, Juvenile Section. He is an adjunct professor for

Shawnee State University Shawnee State University (SSU) is a public university in Portsmouth, Ohio. Established in 1986, Shawnee State is an open admissions university. It is the southernmost member of the University System of Ohio. History Although its roots date bac ...

and formerly taught constitutional law at

Federal judicial service

On October 10, 2018, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

announced his intent to nominate McFarland to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. On November 13, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated McFarland to the seat vacated by Judge

Thomas M. Rose Thomas Michael Rose (born 1948) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Education and career Rose was born in Circleville, Ohio and graduated from Laurelville High School i ...

, who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on June 30, 2017. On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate McFarland for a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. 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 12–10 vote. On December 18, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 55–38 vote. His nomination was confirmed later that day by a 56–38 vote. He received his judicial commission on December 31, 2019. In July 2022, McFarland ruled that the U.S. Air Force's mandate of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

vaccinations for its members violated the First Amendment's free exercise clause. Later, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision. Not long after McFarland's ruling and the appellate decision upholding it, the U.S. Department of Defense rescinded the mandate for all troops.

Memberships

He has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2017.United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Matthew McFarland
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McFarland, Matthew W. 1967 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges American prosecutors Capital University alumni Capital University faculty Capital University Law School alumni Federalist Society members Judges of the Ohio District Courts of Appeals Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Ohio lawyers People from Portsmouth, Ohio State attorneys United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump