| Benita Y. Pearson | |
| Office: | Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio |
| Term Start: | December 27, 2010 |
| Appointer: | Barack Obama |
| Predecessor: | Peter C. Economus |
| Office1: | Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio |
| Term Start1: | August 2008 |
| Term End1: | December 27, 2010 |
| Birth Place: | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Education: | Georgetown University (BS) Cleveland State University (JD) |
Benita Yalonda Pearson (born February 1963) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and formerly a United States magistrate judge on the same court.
Born and raised in Cleveland,[1] Pearson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Georgetown University in 1985 and then earned a Juris Doctor from the Cleveland State University College of Law in 1995.[2]
From 1985 to 1992, Pearson worked for BP, first as a corporate accountant from 1985 to 1987 and then as a supervisor of retail marketing accounting from 1987 to 1990 and then in retail sales from 1990 to 1992. From 1992 to 1994, Pearson worked as a law clerk for a Cleveland law firm, and from 1995 to 1996, Pearson served as a litigation associate for a Cleveland law firm. From 1996 to 1998, Pearson served as a law clerk for Judge John Michael Manos of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.[2] From 1998 until 2000, Pearson served as a general litigation associate for Jones Day Reavis & Pogue in Cleveland.[2] From 2000 to 2008, Pearson served as an assistant United States attorney in Cleveland.[2]
In August 2008, Pearson became a United States magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.[2]
In July 2009, Pearson was recommended to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by both Ohio Senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican George Voinovich.[1] On December 3, 2009, President Barack Obama formally nominated Pearson to serve on the Northern District of Ohio.[2] Pearson was chosen to fill the seat vacated by Judge Peter C. Economus, who assumed senior status on July 3, 2009.[1] The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary reported Pearson's nomination to the Senate on February 11, 2010. On December 21, 2010, her nomination was confirmed by the Senate by a 56–39 vote, with George Voinovich of Ohio casting the lone Republican affirmative vote.[3] [4] She received her commission on December 27, 2010. She became the first African-American woman to hold a federal judgeship in Ohio.[4] [5]