Judge Dingus was born and raised in Eastern Kentucky and was the first in his family to attend college. He received his undergraduate education at Morehead State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government in 1994. He then attended law school at the University of Akron School of Law, graduating, cum laude, with a Juris Doctorate in 1998. Judge Dingus began his legal career as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Morrow County, Ohio, where he prosecuted adults and juveniles charged with misdemeanor and felony offenses. He then moved on to the private practice of law in 2001, initially as an associate attorney with the firm of Plymale & Associates in Columbus and then as a founding member of the firm of Plymale & Dingus, where he served fifteen years as the firm’s managing partner until his election to the 10th District Court of Appeals in 2024. During his twenty-six year career as a trial attorney, he was involved in more than 2,000 legal cases, including cases before many of the appellate districts in Ohio, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Ohio Supreme Court.