benita_pearson_web.jpgWASHINGTON (AP) _ The U.S. Senate has confirmed the appointment of a former prosecutor to the U.S. District Court in Youngstown.

The office of Sen. Sherrod Brown says 47-year-old Benita Pearson will be the first black woman to hold a U.S. District judgeship in Ohio. She will replace Judge Peter Economus, who is assuming senior status.

Pearson has worked as a federal magistrate since 2008. The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reports she previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney and as an accountant.

She is a graduate of Georgetown University and received her law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.