Chief Judge
United States Court of Appeals
Sixth Circuit
Medina, Ohio
Ohio Wesleyan University, 1964
J.D. University of Akron, 1971
From 1971 to 1983, Chief Judge Batchelder served as an attorney in private practice with Williams and Batchelder. She obtained her first judicial post as a judge on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio in 1983. After two years, she was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. While a district judge, Batchelder obtained a Master of Laws degree from the University of Virginia Law School in 1988.
In 1991 President George Bush appointed her to her position as judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; which covers Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. In 2009, Batchelder began her term as Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and currently serves in that position.
She is on the Board of Trustees of Grove City College, from which she received an Honorary Doctor of Law in 2009. She has been honored with several awards from The University of Akron and the University of Akron School of Law: the Law Outstanding Alumni Award in 1993; in 1996, an Honorary Alumni Award; and in 2001, she received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law. In 1993, she received the Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from Lake Erie College. In 2011, Judge Batchelder received the Defender of the Constitution award from the Heritage Foundation.
She is married to William G. Batchelder, current Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. She has two adult children and three grandchildren.