# Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.
Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. (born 1953) is an American jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio since 1996.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) He was appointed by President Bill Clinton and served as chief judge of the court from 2015 to 2019.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) |
| Appointed by | William J. Clinton[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) |
| Confirmed | July 22, 1996 (voice vote)[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) |
| Chief judge | 2015 to 2019[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) |
| Born | 1953 in Wheeling, West Virginia[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) |
| Education | A.B., Brown University, 1975; J.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 1978[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) |
## Early life and education
Sargus was born in 1953 in [Wheeling, West Virginia](https://www.edgepedia.org/wheeling-west-virginia).[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) He received an A.B. from [Brown University](https://www.edgepedia.org/brown-university) in 1975 and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1978.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) His official court biography states that he graduated from Brown with honors in American History.[2](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/bioSargus)
## Legal career
From 1978 to 1993, Sargus was in private practice in Bellaire and St. Clairsville, Ohio.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) His court biography identifies his firms as Burech & Sargus, where he was a partner from 1983 to 1993, and earlier associate positions with Cinque, Banker, Linch, Gromen & White and the Burech Law Firm.[2](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/bioSargus) He simultaneously held a series of local government posts: special counsel to the attorney general of Ohio from 1979 to 1993, solicitor of Powhatan Point, Ohio, from 1979 to 1993, a member of the St. Clairsville city council from 1988 to 1991, and law director of Bellaire from 1991 to 1993.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) • [2](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/bioSargus)
In 1993, Sargus became United States attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, serving until 1996.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) His court biography states that he was appointed to that post by President Clinton and confirmed unanimously by the [United States Senate](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-senate), and that he also served as a special deputy United States marshal from 1994 to 1996.[2](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/bioSargus)
## Federal judicial service
President Clinton nominated Sargus to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on December 22, 1995, to a seat vacated by Judge John D. Holschuh.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) The Senate confirmed him by voice vote on July 22, 1996, and he received his commission on August 1, 1996.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376) He served as chief judge of the Southern District of Ohio from 2015 to 2019.[1](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376)
## Notable cases
**C-8 personal injury litigation.** From 2013 to 2024, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation assigned Sargus 3,710 personal injury cases involving C-8, a chemical used by DuPont at a plant along the [Ohio River](https://www.edgepedia.org/ohio-river) that plaintiffs alleged had entered their water supply and caused injuries including cancer. Sargus organized the first 3,550 cases and presided over five lengthy jury trials, leading to a settlement of all then-pending cases; follow-on cases filed later also settled, with the last cases settling on the eve of trial in September 2024.[2](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/bioSargus)
**Medical device litigation.** From 2018 to September 2024, Sargus was assigned by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation more than 24,000 medical device product-liability claims from across the country. A tentative settlement was announced in September 2024, but the litigation was still ongoing as of October 2025, with a mid-2025 bellwether verdict exceeding $4 million and court-ordered renewed settlement discussions continuing.[2](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/bioSargus)
**Skye Ventures v. Venezuela.** In a ruling on July 22, 2016, Sargus rejected a $100 million investors' lawsuit against Venezuela over three-decade-old promissory notes issued by a now-defunct government-sponsored Venezuelan bank, after presiding over a trial lasting nearly five weeks. He called the notes fraudulent in a 101-page opinion, writing that the "bank in question never issued the debt and received no consideration for it," and noted that even a lawyer for the plaintiff Skye Ventures viewed the validity of the notes as an extremely close call.[3](https://www.foxnews.com/world/federal-judge-rejects-100m-lawsuit-against-venezuela)
**Watchtower Bible & Tract Society v. Stratton.** In 1999, Sargus struck down or narrowed most provisions of a Village of Stratton ordinance requiring canvassers to obtain a permit before going on private residential property to promote any "cause," in a First Amendment suit brought by [Jehovah's Witnesses](https://www.edgepedia.org/jehovahs-witnesses) publishers, while upholding the ordinance's registration requirement. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, but the Supreme Court in 2002 found the pre-registration requirement unconstitutional.[2](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/bioSargus)
**United States v. Ohio Edison.** In 2003, in one of eleven nationwide cases testing grandfathered provisions of the Clean Air Act, Sargus found that [Ohio Edison](https://www.edgepedia.org/ohio-edison) had violated the Clean Air Act in the first decision issued in those cases. He then mediated the remedy phase, resulting in a settlement requiring installation of emission controls costing $1.2 billion, and mediated a similar case involving nine [American Electric Power](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-electric-power) plants that resulted in $4.6 billion of emission controls.[2](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/bioSargus)
**Cutter v. Wilkinson.** In 2005, the State of Ohio contended that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act was unconstitutional because the increased protection it gave to religious activities in prisons violated the [Establishment Clause](https://www.edgepedia.org/establishment-clause). Sargus rejected the claim but was reversed by the Court of Appeals; the Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Court of Appeals in Cutter v. Wilkinson, 544 U.S. 709 (2005).[2](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/bioSargus)
## Writing
In 2015, Sargus co-authored with Edmund C. Sargus a New York Times opinion article, "The Editor Turned Soldier," about Thomas Drummond, an anti-slavery state senator, newspaper editor, and Union cavalry captain who died at the Battle of Five Forks. In 2020, he co-authored with Eric Wittenberg and Penny Barrick the book "Seceding from Secession; Creating West Virginia," about the constitutional crisis leading to the creation of [West Virginia](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-virginia).[2](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/bioSargus)
## References
1. [Federal Judicial Center, Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges: Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1387376)
2. [Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr., United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/bioSargus)
3. [Federal judge rejects $100M lawsuit against Venezuela, Fox News (AP)](https://www.foxnews.com/world/federal-judge-rejects-100m-lawsuit-against-venezuela)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Law and justice › Courts and legal practice › Legal biographies › United States judges › US federal judges › Article III judges (district and appellate) › United States district court judges › Surnames Q to Sc*
*Initially written Sep 27, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 29, 2026 · Edited: Sep 29, 2026 · Last review: Sep 29, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license