Charles L. Patton, Jr. was elected to the Cleveland Municipal Court bench in November of 2005, fulfilling a lifelong goal to become a judge.

Influenced by the civil rights struggles in the sixties, Charles Patton, a graduate of JFK High School, enrolled at Ohio University in Athens and pursued degrees in Journalism and History (Afro-American), both of which he obtained in 1972.  It was then on to law school at Howard University in Washington D.C., at which time he worked as an administrative assistant to U.S. Senator John Glenn.  After graduation Judge Patton became Assistant General Counsel of the Public Service Commission of New York State, working on cases involving Public Utility issues.
 
 In 1982, Charles Patton came back to Cleveland to work as an Assistant City Prosecutor, arguing five cases to the Court of Appeals, 13 jury trials and hundreds of criminal bench trials.  From 1985 to 1989, he worked as Staff Attorney for the UAW/Ford-GM Legal Office in Lorain, Ohio, representing UAW members in civil matters. In 1989, he became Legal Director and Senior Staff Counsel of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority. That same year, Mr. Patton decided to run for a seat on the Cleveland City Council and was elected to represent the people of Ward One.
 
During his eight year tenure on council, Mr. Patton served as Chairman of the Legislation Committee and the Public Utilities Committee.  He also served on the Public Safety Committee, Public Parks and Community and Economic Development. “Being a member of Cleveland City Council was the busiest part time job in the world,” he recalls, adding “the problems in the neighborhood and the issues in City Hall kept me busy at all hours of the day and night.”
 
Following his years on City Council, Judge Patton was engaged in private practice, specializing in probate, civil, criminal, utility and administrative law.
 
Throughout his career, Judge Patton has been very active in several court outreach programs including Get on Track (GOT) and the Traffic Intervention Program (TIP).  His community involvement included: the RTA Board of Trustees; the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA); Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries (LMM); the League of Women Voters and Founder of the Amistad Development Corporation of Cleveland.
 
An avid photographer, he is the recipient of the Kodak Community Service Award for Photography and was once President of the Karamu Camera Guild.  He also enjoys reading and traveling.