NCJW opposes Judge Matthew Byrne. Here’s why:
Judge Matthew Byrne has a long record of affiliation with and advocacy for ideologically extreme legal organizations, including nearly two decades of involvement with the Federalist Society, where he served as a local chapter president. He has also received support from anti-abortion and gun rights groups during his judicial campaigns and has repeatedly expressed deeply held views opposing reproductive freedom. In private practice at Jackson Lewis, he represented corporate clients in employment litigation against individual workers, often in cases involving workplace harm. Across his public statements, organizational affiliations, and legal work, he has consistently aligned himself with positions that restrict LGBTQ+ equality and reproductive rights, raising serious concerns about his ability to serve as a fair and impartial federal judge committed to equal justice under the law.
Judge Matthew Byrne’s stance on important issues:
LGBTQ+ Rights
Judge Byrne has publicly supported the position that marriage should be limited to “one man and one woman” and that individuals and organizations should not be required to provide services that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs. In a case involving a minor who is LGBTQ+ and was removed from parental custody due to abuse and neglect, Judge Byrne refused to use the minor’s preferred pronouns, but instead deadnamed the minor. He previously joined opinions that misgendered those in the case.
Reproductive Rights
During his run for state judicial office, Judge Byrne emphasized his anti-abortion credentials, including donations to anti-abortion groups and attendance at their events. He was a member of the advisory board of a crisis pregnancy center, Pregnancy Center East. He organized Federalist Society debates on abortion center laws and wrote about his strong anti-abortion and anti-birth control views in college, indicating that it was a “biological, scientific reality” that an unborn child is biologically human at every stage of his or her biological development, beginning at fertilization. While Bryne was a visiting judge on the Ohio Supreme Court, the state brought an appeal to urge the court to bring back Ohio’s 2019 abortion ban that prohibited six-week abortions. The case was dismissed after the Ohio voters passed the Reproductive Freedom Amendment, amending the Ohio Constitution to add abortion rights and other reproductive rights. Despite this, he was one of two judges who dissented from the dismissal. And, from 2015 to 2020, he served as a member of the advisory board for Pregnancy Center East, a crisis pregnancy center in Ohio.
Education and Career Highlights:
Judge Byrne received a BA from Xavier University in 2003 and received his JD from Ohio State University Law School. After graduating from law school, he worked in private practice until 2010 at Taft Stettinius & Hollister and then for 10 years at Jackson Lewis. In 2020, Judge Byrne worked as an associate and later as of counsel for ten years. In 2020, Byrne was elected to his current role as a judge on the Ohio Twelfth District Court of Appeals.