Benita Yalonda Pearson
Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010 and confirmed by the Senate 56–39, Benita Yalonda Pearson is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. She earned a law degree from Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1995. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1963 · age 63
- Appointed by
- Barack Obama, 2010
- Confirmed
- 56–39
- Education
- Georgetown 1985 · Cleveland State, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law 1995
- Succeeded
- Peter C. Economus
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Northern District of Ohio succeeded Peter C. Economus | Obama (D) | 56–39 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 56–39 on December 21, 2010 · 111th Congress, Roll Call 290. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 56
53 D, 1 R, 2 I
- Daniel Akaka(D-HI)
- Max Baucus(D-MT)
- Mark Begich(D-AK)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Jeff Bingaman(D-NM)
- Barbara Boxer(D-CA)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Benjamin Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Christopher Dodd(D-CT)
- Byron Dorgan(D-ND)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Russ Feingold(D-WI)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Al Franken(D-MN)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Kay Hagan(D-NC)
- Tom Harkin(D-IA)
- Daniel Inouye(D-HI)
- Tim Johnson(D-SD)
- John Kerry(D-MA)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Herb Kohl(D-WI)
- Mary Landrieu(D-LA)
- Frank Lautenberg(D-NJ)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Carl Levin(D-MI)
- Joe Lieberman(I-CT)
- Blanche Lincoln(D-AR)
- Joe Manchin(D-WV)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Barbara Mikulski(D-MD)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Bill Nelson(D-FL)
- Mark Pryor(D-AR)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Harry Reid(D-NV)
- Jay Rockefeller(D-WV)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Arlen Specter(D-PA)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- Mark Udall(D-CO)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- George Voinovich(R-OH)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- James Webb(D-VA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
Voted against · 39
1 D, 38 R
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Robert Bennett(R-UT)
- Scott Brown(R-MA)
- Jim Bunning(R-KY)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Saxby Chambliss(R-GA)
- Tom Coburn(R-OK)
- Thad Cochran(R-MS)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- Bob Corker(R-TN)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- James DeMint(R-SC)
- John Ensign(R-NV)
- Michael Enzi(R-WY)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Orrin Hatch(R-UT)
- Kay Hutchison(R-TX)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
- Mike Johanns(R-NE)
- Mark Kirk(R-IL)
- Jon Kyl(R-AZ)
- George LeMieux(R-FL)
- Richard Lugar(R-IN)
- John McCain(R-AZ)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Jeff Sessions(R-AL)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Olympia Snowe(R-ME)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- David Vitter(R-LA)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
Did not vote · 5
2 D, 3 R
- Evan Bayh(D-IN)
- Christopher Bond(R-MO)
- Samuel Brownback(R-KS)
- Judd Gregg(R-NH)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Education
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Pearson was assigned 2,630 district-court cases (1986–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 178 days across 2,306 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 327 of Pearson’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 250 were affirmed, 51 reversed or vacated, and 26 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
In our data, Pearson authored 3 published opinions for the court (2011). Most cited: Walton v. Astrue (57 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Walton v. Astrue | 773 F. Supp. 2d 742 | 57 |
| 2011 | Villanueva v. Barcroft | 822 F. Supp. 2d 726 | 14 |
| 2011 | McGowan v. McDermott | 445 B.R. 821 | 3 |
Showing the 3 most-cited of 3 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Benita Yalonda Pearson?
- President Barack Obama appointed Benita Yalonda Pearson to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in 2010.
- Was Benita Yalonda Pearson appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Benita Yalonda Pearson was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Benita Yalonda Pearson's confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Benita Yalonda Pearson 56–39 on December 21, 2010.
- Which court is Benita Yalonda Pearson on?
- Benita Yalonda Pearson is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: unidentified photographer (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2010)
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
15 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).