Sara Elizabeth Lioi (born December 17, 1960) is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, while also serving as a judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Born in Canton, Ohio, Lioi graduated from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 and later from Ohio State University College of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1987.

Following law school graduation, Lioi joined the law firm of Day, Ketterer, Raley, Wright & Rybolt, Ltd. in the fall of 1987 and was promoted to partner in that firm in December 1993.

In November 1997, during his second term as governor, George Voinovich appointed Lioi as a judge in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, Central Division.

[2] On the recommendation of Senators George Voinovich and Mike DeWine,[2] Lioi was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by President George W. Bush on January 9, 2007, to a seat vacated by Lesley B.