Lucas County Common Pleas Court
3rd Floor – Courtroom #4 
700 Adams St. , Toledo, OH 43604-5678

Criminal Bailiff, Pam Jagos – (419) 213-2060
Civil Bailiff, Stephanie McCarthy – (419) 213-4538

Tenure = 2013 – Present
Term ends = 2029

Judge Micheal R. Goulding serves as Judge of the Common Pleas Court of Lucas County, General Division, where he has presided since 2013. He was unanimously designated by his colleagues to serve as a Commercial Docket Judge in 2019 and is tasked with handling cases involving complex business litigation. Judge Goulding is one of only 8 such judges designated in the state of Ohio. In 2023, Judge Goulding was elected as the court’s Administrative Judge for a two-year term and was re-elected to the position for a second consecutive term. Judge Goulding took the lead in restoring jury trials safely following the Covid-19 shutdowns.

Prior to his service on the common pleas court bench, Judge Goulding presided as Judge of the Toledo Municipal Court, where he was appointed, and then elected, in 2007. He served as the court’s Presiding and Administrative Judge for two terms. While serving the municipal court, he was elected as an officer of the Association of Municipal and County Judges of Ohio.

Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Goulding was a partner in the Toledo-based firm Shindler Neff, LLP, where he practiced in the areas of commercial litigation,

employment, real estate, and probate law. He has been admitted to practice before the bars of Ohio, Florida, and the U.S. District Court. He received his J.D. from the University of Toledo’s College of Law, and his B.A. from the Ohio State University.

Judge Goulding served as President of the Northwest Ohio Municipal and County Judges’ Association. He has served in various leadership roles in the Ohio State Bar Association, Toledo Bar Association, Lucas County Bar Association, Toledo Women’s Bar Association, and St. Thomas More Society of the Diocese of Toledo. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar Foundation and Toledo Bar Association Foundation, and has served for years as an instructor with the Ohio Judicial College.

Chief Justice O’Connor appointed Judge Goulding to serve on the Task Force on Funding Ohio Courts and the Task Force to Examine Improvements to the Ohio Grand Jury System. The Supreme Court of Ohio also appointed him to serve two terms on the Commission on the Rules of Superintendence, as well as the Commercial Docket Advisory Group. He has been appointed by the Court as a Mentor to new judges and has testified before the General Assembly on matters of importance to the judiciary and advocated legislation of benefit to victims of crime.

Judge Goulding plays drums and bass guitar for Jingle Balls, a group of lawyers, judges, and others affiliated with the law to raise money for charitable legal causes. He has served on the board of directors of the Mildred Bayer Clinic for the Homeless, the Toledo Law Association, and the Diocese of Toledo Catholic Charities Advisory Board. He is married with four children.