Ransey Guy Cole Jr. (born May 23, 1951) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Ransey Guy Cole Jr.
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
Chief Judge — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Born 1951 in Birmingham, AL
FJC ID: 473
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 13/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 363/year
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals · 1995–
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
- African American
Prior employment
- Ohio State University College of LawAdjunct professor of law · 2010–present
Board member · 2022–2026- Judicial Conference of the United StatesMember · 2014–2021
- Private practice, Columbus, Ohio1975–1978, 1980–1986, 1993–1995
Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, U.S. Department of JusticeTrial attorney · 1978–1980
Appointments
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth CircuitChief Judge1995–2023 · Appointed by William J. Clinton (Democratic)
Education
J.D. · 1975- Tufts UniversityB.A. · 1972