Thomas D. Lambros

Thomas D. Lambros, a son of Greek immigrants born on February 4, 1930, in Ashtabula, Ohio, was honored for his achievements as a lawyer, jurist, and proud citizen of the United States of America. He was elected judge of the Common Pleas Court of Ashtabula County and served from 1960 to 1967, when President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him as a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio. He later served as Chief Judge of that court from 1990 until his retirement in 1995. Across 35 years as a jurist, he was guided by a passion for justice and pride in America, and he especially cherished administering the oath of citizenship to more than 40,000 individuals who, like his own parents, pursued the American Dream in a land of freedom and opportunity. His pioneering efforts to simplify the judicial process produced the Summary Jury Trial, which came to be used nationally as a pretrial settlement procedure. In recognition of his distinguished service and his personal efforts that led to the construction of the federal building and courthouse bearing his name, Public Law 104-136 was enacted by Congress and signed by President William J. Clinton on April 30, 1996.

Youngstown, Ohio · United States