Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse
100 East Fifth Street
Cincinnati, Ohio
(513) 564-7600
Judge Matthew R. Byrne was nominated to serve on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio by President Donald J. Trump on June 15, 2026. The nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 15, 2026, and Judge Byrne began his federal judicial service on October 2, 2026.
For nearly six years, beginning in 2021, Judge Byrne served as an elected Judge on Ohio’s Twelfth District Court of Appeals, where he heard civil and criminal appeals from trial courts in eight southwest Ohio counties. Judge Byrne served as the Twelfth District Court of Appeals’ Presiding Judge in 2026 and as its Administrative Judge in 2024 and 2025. In his time at the appeals court, Judge Byrne authored 237 majority opinions and a number of concurring and dissenting opinions.
While at the appeals court, Judge Byrne was appointed to serve as Vice Chairman and Member of the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure in Ohio Courts (where he also served as chair of the Appellate Rules Committee) and as Member of the Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness. Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy appointed Judge Byrne to serve as a visiting judge on the Supreme Court of Ohio in five cases.
From January 2010 to December 2020, Judge Byrne practiced law at the national law firm of Jackson Lewis P.C. He was a member of the firm's General Employment Litigation Practice Group and the Wage and Hour Practice Group. From 2007 to 2010 he practiced at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. At both firms, Judge Byrne represented clients ranging from small businesses to international corporations in state and federal trial and appellate litigation, including multiple class and collective actions. He also represented clients in arbitration and before numerous administrative agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. Judge Byrne's litigation and administrative agency experience included matters in fourteen states.
Judge Byrne earned his law degree, cum laude, from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. During law school he was symposium editor of the Ohio State Law Journal and the winner of the Donald S. Teller Memorial Award for student writing contributing most significantly to the Ohio State Law Journal. During law school he working as an Honors Summer Clerk for the Acting General Counsel of the United States Department of the Treasury.
Prior to law school, Judge Byrne served as a member of the White House Staff in the Office of Presidential Personnel. In that role Judge Byrne was responsible for preparing documents submitted to President George W. Bush concerning his selection and nomination of appointees for high-level federal government positions, and for coordinating with the Offices of White House Counsel, Press Secretary, and Executive Clerk regarding candidate background clearances, press announcements, and the status of appointments/nominations.
Judge Byrne earned his bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Xavier University, where he majored in International Affairs (Business) and Political Science.
Judge Byrne has been active in numerous community, civic, and religious organizations. He has been a member of the Federalist Society since law school and he served for five years as the president of the Federalist Society's Cincinnati Lawyers Chapter. At various times he has been a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the Cincinnati Bar Association, the Butler County Bar Association, the Warren County Bar Association, and the Clermont County Bar Association.