--- title: "Douglas Russell Cole | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/douglas-russell-cole" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Douglas Russell Cole U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern 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, S.D. Ohio, 2019-present - United States district judge for the Southern District of Ohio, appointed on December 5, 2019 by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by the Senate on December 4, 2019 - 2006–2019: Partner at Organ Cole LLP in Columbus - Partner, Organ Cole LLP, Columbus, OH, 2006-2009 - Solicitor General of Ohio, Office of the Ohio Attorney General, Columbus, OH, 2002-2006 - Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus, Norman, OK, 1997-1998 - 1993–1994: Law clerk to Judge Frank H. Easterbrook on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit - Clerk to the Hon. Frank H. Easterbrook, Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Chicago, IL, 1993-1994 - Current role: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, with offices in Cincinnati and Columbus ### Education - Engineering — University of Wisconsin-Madison - Math, Physics — Ripon College ### Additional information - Nominated: May 13, 2019, by President Trump to replace Judge Susan J. Dlott - Partner, Jones Day, Columbus, OH, 2006-2011 - prof, Ohio State University-Main Campus, Columbus, OH, 2000-2003 - Practitioner, Zeiger & Carpenter, Columbus, OH, 1998-2000 - Practitioner, Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago, IL, 1994-1997 - J.D. with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School (1993), where he was an Olin Fellow in Law & Economics and served on the University of Chicago Law Review - Date of birth: 1964-01-01 - handling complex litigation and intellectual property matters - Cole’s career spans litigation, academic teaching, and state-level legal advocacy, with a strong background in business law, law & economics, and intellectual property. - He is also active in professional and legal events, including Federalist Society appearances - Birth place: Janesville, WI ## 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 ### 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/7465651) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7465651) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/7465651) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/15330/douglas-russell-cole/) - [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/15330/douglas-russell-cole/) - [Wikidata: Douglas R. Cole](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q63456207) - [Judge List](https://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/nodeblock/judge-list) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/15330/douglas-russell-cole/) - [Wikidata: Douglas R. Cole](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q63456207) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/douglas-russell-cole", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/douglas-russell-cole", "name": "Douglas Russell Cole | KnowJudges", "description": "Douglas Russell Cole, U.S. District Court for the Southern 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.