Michael Harrison Watson (born November 7, 1956) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 6/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 8/year
Ohio Southern District Court · 2004–
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Judicial Conference of the United StatesMember · 2020–2021
- Court of Appeals of Ohio, Tenth Appellate DistrictJudge · 2003–2004
- Franklin County [Ohio] Court of Common PleasJudge · 1996–2003
- Gov. George Voinovich, OhioCounsel · 1992–1995
- ↳deputy chief legal counsel · 1992–1994
- ↳chief legal counsel · 1994–1995
- Ohio Department of CommerceChief legal counsel · 1991–1992
- Private practice, Ohio1988–1991
- Franklin County [Ohio] Court of Common PleasBailiff and law clerk · 1983–1988
- Ohio Air National Guard1978–1984
U.S. Air Force1975–1978
Appointments
2004–2025 · Appointed by George W. Bush (Republican)
Education
J.D. · 1987- Ohio State UniversityB.A. · 1983