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Meet new U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Amanda Knapp
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: December 17, 2021
When she was 16, Amanda Knapp spent the summer in southern California visiting her grandfather.
It wasn’t a traditional vacation. In fact, a large portion of her time was devoted to working at a legal aid clinic that helped residents fill out applications for civil harassment and domestic violence protective orders.
“My grandfather was a court commissioner in Los Angeles County and he drove me to the courthouse with him every morning,” she said. “He arranged for me to work at the clinic and through that experience I realized that with the proper training and instruction I could help people to access the protections of the justice system.”
It was then that she decided to go to law school and she never wavered in her commitment.
Fast-forward to today and she’s now the newest magistrate judge to take the bench at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Magistrate Judge Knapp was sworn in to an eight-year term on Oct. 1. She replaced Magistrate Judge Kathleen B. Burke, who retired effective Sept. 30.
In an email, Chief Judge Patricia A. Gaughan stated, “Magistrate Judge Knapp has the intelligence, experience and judicial temperament necessary to be an excellent judicial officer. She is a welcome addition to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio."
“I am very excited to serve the community and the district judges of the Northern District of Ohio,” said Magistrate Judge Knapp, who is located in Akron. “I love the intellectual variety that my new role provides and the fact that it enables me to use various aspects of my legal experience.”
A native of Sacramento, California, Magistrate Judge Knapp obtained her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania and her juris doctorate from Harvard Law School.
“Harvard has fantastic clinical programs that gave me opportunities to help real clients while I received my legal education,” said Magistrate Judge Knapp.
After graduating from Harvard in 2002, Magistrate Judge Knapp began her career as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Morrow, who served in the Central District of California. She then completed a federal clerkship in the Eastern District of California, where she worked for U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr.
Prior to moving to Ohio with her family, she served as counsel to the California State Senate Judiciary Committee for two years.
After passing the Ohio bar exam, she took on the role of assistant law director for the city of Cleveland Heights, where she handled civil litigation matters, before joining the Cleveland office of Roetzel & Andress as an associate.
“I focused on white collar criminal matters, corporate compliance, business and commercial litigation and municipal litigation work,” said Magistrate Judge Knapp.
In October 2017, she was appointed as an administrative law judge (ALJ) in the Akron Office of Hearings Operations for the Social Security Administration.
“As an administrative law judge, I heard appeals from individuals who had been denied disability benefits,” she said. “Every individual who is denied benefits has a due process right to an evidentiary hearing in front of an ALJ.
“The job was very fulfilling because those hearings are often an individual’s only guaranteed opportunity to talk to a decision-maker in person about why they believe they are entitled to benefits,” said Magistrate Judge Knapp.
“One thing I missed in that role was the variety of legal issues I dealt with when I was in private practice. Now I get that variety in spades.
“As a U.S. magistrate judge, I conduct preliminary criminal proceedings, manage civil disputes, do mediation work and provide reports and recommendations to district court judges regarding habeas corpus filings and Social Security disability appeals,” said Magistrate Judge Knapp. “I never quite know what I will be doing from one day to the next, which I really enjoy.”
A longtime member of the Federal Bar Association, Magistrate Judge Knapp is currently the president-elect for the Northern District of Ohio Chapter of the bar association.
She has also served as secretary, treasurer and vice president of the chapter and previously chaired the Membership Committee and co-chaired the Younger Lawyers Committee. She will be sworn in as president of the chapter in October 2022.
From 2012 to 2017, she was a member of the Antitrust Law Section Council of the Ohio State Bar Association, having served as both the treasurer and vice-chair.
“While I did not plan to be a judge, I believe it is the best use of the talents that I have,” said Magistrate Judge Knapp. “It’s nice being situated in the federal court system, where I began my career and which has always felt the most like home.
“I am excited to put my legal experience to use in service of the people of this district. It is my highest priority to ensure that all people have access to the benefits and protections of our justice system, a goal I have had since I was a teenager.”