--- title: "Benita Yalonda Pearson | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benita-yalonda-pearson" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Benita Yalonda Pearson U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio - State: Ohio - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, N.D. Ohio, 2010-present - Dec 27, 2010: Commissioned as U.S. District Judge - United States district judge for the Northern District of Ohio, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010 and confirmed by the Senate 56–39 - U.S. Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, 2008-2010 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Ohio, 2000-2008 - Law clerk, Hon. John Manos, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, 1996-1998 - held the role of a law clerk to a federal judge before joining the judiciary ### Education - Georgetown University — B.S. (1985) - Cleveland State University College of Law ### Additional information - Aug 2008 – Dec 2010: U.S. Magistrate Judge, N.D. Ohio - Private practice, Cleveland, OH, 1998-2000 - Private practice, Cleveland, OH, 1995-1996 - Date of birth: 1963-01-01 - Her appointment was notable for breaking racial and gender barriers in Ohio’s federal judiciary - Birth place: Cleveland, OH ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393571) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393571) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393571) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2524/benita-yalonda-pearson/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2524/benita-yalonda-pearson/) - [Wikidata: Benita Y. Pearson](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4888077) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benita-yalonda-pearson", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/benita-yalonda-pearson", "name": "Benita Yalonda Pearson | KnowJudges", "description": "Benita Yalonda Pearson, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.