Login | October 30, 2025
Retired U.S. District Court Judge Lesley Wells remembered
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: October 30, 2025
A trailblazer in the legal profession, retired U.S. District Court Judge Lesley Wells served on the bench in the Northern District of Ohio for approximately 21 years, earning a reputation as a fair and respectful jurist, who carefully examined all sides of a case before issuing a ruling.
“Judge Wells had a commanding presence and was known for treating all parties in her courtroom with the utmost respect,” said U.S. District Court Judge Solomon Oliver Jr., who served alongside Judge Wells in the Northern District of Ohio almost the entire time she was on the bench.
“She was a very good judge and a very good colleague,” said Judge Oliver. “I do think that even when lawyers got a disappointing result, they would still have felt that she was fair and that they had been heard.”
Retired U.S. District Court Judge James G. Carr, who served in the Northern District of Ohio, said Judge Wells had “an understated elegance and a quiet demeanor” and gave all matters her full attention.
“She was located in Cleveland and I was in Toledo, so I primarily saw her at meetings,” said Carr. “What I remember about Judge Wells is that her comments at our meetings were always well thought out.
“She took her oath of office very seriously,” said Carr. “She was unfailing pleasant, courteous and respectful.
“Wherever Lesley Wells went and whomever she encountered were each made better by her having been there and having been with them.”
On Aug. 5, Judge Wells passed away at the age of 87.
“I was very close to my mom,” said her youngest daughter Anne Kristin Brooks. “She was living with my family during the last part of her life, and our home became her final resting place.
“My mom was a Quaker and because of her faith a big part of her life was spent supporting others,” said Brooks. “Growing up, my siblings and I always had people around us outside of our immediate family. She took in foreign exchange students and held many political gatherings.
“Both my parents were activists in their own ways and those values rubbed off on their children,” said Brooks, an assistant professor for the nursing program at Cuyahoga Community College and a certified nurse midwife (CNM). “I grew up believing that we must all take responsibility for our community and try and help to solve the world’s problems.”
Born on Oct. 6, 1937 in Muskegon, Michigan, she was the eldest of Inez and James Wells’ two children.
Her father was a U.S. Army colonel and as a result, she spent her childhood in many parts of the world. She particularly loved Salzburg, Austria, said Brooks.
Judge Wells earned her bachelor’s degree from Chatham College (all female at the time) in Pittsburgh in 1959.
Prior to attending the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (now known as Cleveland State University College of Law), Judge Wells raised four children with her late husband Arthur V.N. Brooks.
She later remarried, spending 14 years with the late Charles F. Clarke.
During law school, Judge Wells served as a federal court intern for the Women’s Law Fund.
She received her juris doctor in 1974, joining the 110-year-old Cleveland law firm later known as Schneider Smeltz Spieth Bell, which recently rebranded as Schneider Bell.
“Mom was the first woman to be hired at the firm,” said Brooks. “She used every moment she was given to make a positive statement about the abilities of women.”
In 1979, she became the director of the ABAR III Civil Rights Litigation Support Center at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. The following year she returned to private practice and started as an adjunct professor at the law school.
Sole practitioner Susan Gragel took a class with Judge Wells.
“I was in her equal employment opportunity law course, which was a new field at the time.
“There were still very few women in the legal profession and she was very supportive of women who had entered law school in the early 1980s.
“Later when she took the federal court bench, I came before her on numerous occasions,” said Gragel, who at the time focused on litigation and labor law. “She had a calm judicial temperament and never let her emotions get in the way of her rulings. She always remained impartial and dignified.”
Judge Wells was also an adjunct assistant professor at Cleveland State’s College of Urban Affairs from 1980-1983 and from 1990-1992.
In 1983, Judge Wells was elected to the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, where she made history as the court’s first female Domestic Relations judge.
She was later elected to the general division of the common pleas court.
In 1994, Judge Wells started her lengthy tenure on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio after being appointed by former President Bill Clinton. She took on senior status in February 2006 and retired in October 2015.
Judge Wells presided over a number of high-profile cases including U.S. v. James A. Traficant and Blue Cross and Blue Shield Mutual of Ohio v. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
In a press release, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Chief Judge Sara Lioi stated, “Our court family deeply mourns the loss of our dear colleague, the Honorable Lesley Wells. Judge Wells was a trailblazer and role model in the legal profession.
“She had a keen intellect and deep commitment to public service. She took the time to mentor any young attorney who sought her wisdom and guidance. Judge Wells was also our friend, and she will always be remembered for her warmth, grace, dignity, collegiality, and humility. She will be greatly missed.”
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Fleming, who serves in the Northern District of Ohio appeared before Judge Wells regularly while an assistant federal public defender.
“Judge Wells really knew her stuff,” said Judge Fleming. “She had a beautiful, disarming smile and was as educated if not more educated on the matter before her than anyone else in the room.
“You may not always get the ruling you wanted, but she was always fair; you understood why she did what she did,” said Judge Fleming. “I believe that her perspective on incarceration changed over the years. In her early years as a federal judge, she would not hesitate to put someone in jail, but as time went on, she became more inclined to consider other alternatives.”
On a more personal note, Judge Fleming said years before he took the bench his mother ran into Judge Wells at a school for one of her grandchildren and struck up a conversation.
“She told my mother that I would make an excellent judge,” said Judge Fleming. “My mother was elated and never forgot her kind words. Needless to say, I was very flattered that Judge Wells felt that way and that she took the opportunity to tell my mother. She was truly a kind person and an excellent judge”
Judge Wells was a member of the American Law Institute; served as president, counselor and master of the William K. Thomas American Inn of Court as well as president of the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.
She was also a member of the council and chair of the jury initiatives task force of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association; a member of the CSU College of Law National Advisory Council and participated in the Aspen Institute Justice and Society Program.
In addition, she was a trustee at Miami University and Chatham College and was the first woman to be a member of the more than century-old Philosophical Club of Cleveland.
Over the years Judge Wells received numerous accolades recognizing her contributions to both the profession and the community from the Ohio Supreme Court, the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Chatham College, Cleveland State University, the Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association and the YWCA in Cleveland as well as others.
Retired U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Nancy Vecchiarelli, who was assigned to the Cleveland office of the Northern District of Ohio practiced in front of Judge Wells before taking the bench.
“I was an assistant U.S. attorney for 13 years,” said Vecchiarelli.
“Judge Wells loved her courtroom and respected its history. She took her role seriously and was very reflective.”
Later when Vecchiarelli took the bench, Judge Wells became her mentor, and then her friend.
“She loved the orchestra and was a big fly-fishing fan. She tried to get me into it, but I was more of a golfer.
“She was a fun-loving and adventurous person who marched to her own beat,” said Vecchiarelli.
Some of Judge Wells’ other hobbies included knitting and collecting leaves, shells and handbags. She also loved red convertibles and was often seen in her vintage Mercedes covered in bumper stickers with a beloved dog in the back.
Judge Wells was laid to rest on Aug. 20 at Lake View Cemetery.
She’s survived by her daughters Lauren Elizabeth Miller (Stan) of Mt. Shasta, California; Caryn Alison Brooks of Irasburg, Vermont and Anne Kristin Brooks (Glenn Meyer) of Cleveland Heights; her son Thomas Eliot Brooks of Lugano, Switzerland; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her late husbands, Arthur V.N. Brooks and Charles F. Clarke.