Solomon Oliver Jr.

Born in Bessemer, Alabama, Oliver received a Bachelor of Arts degree from College of Wooster in 1969 and a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law in 1972. He earned a Master of Arts from Case Western Reserve University in 1974. From 1972 to 1975, he was an assistant professor at the College of Wooster then clerked for Judge William H. Hastie of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1975 to 1976.

Immediately following his clerkship, he worked as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, becoming the chief of the Civil Division in 1978. In 1982, he was named the chief of the Appellate Division. He left the Department of Justice to enter private practice in Wooster, Ohio from 1982 to 1994. However, he continued to serve as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio from 1982 to 1985. During this time, he also served as a professor of law at the Cleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

On March 9, 1994, President Bill Clinton nominated Oliver to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio vacated by Alice M. Batchelder. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 6, 1994, and received his commission on May 9, 1994. He served as Chief Judge from 2010–2017.

• Solomon Oliver Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.