Courts in Michigan
| More information on Michigan's state courts: |
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| Selection methods Elections Salaries Federal courts |
In Michigan, there are two federal district courts, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.
Click a link for information about that court type.
The image below depicts the flow of cases through Michigan's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.
Judicial selection process
- See also: Michigan judicial elections and Judicial selection in Michigan
Judges in Michigan participate in nonpartisan elections.
Michigan is one of 21 states that have nonpartisan or partisan judicial elections. There are also 17 states with judicial retention elections at some or all levels of state courts and three states with partisan judicial elections followed by retention elections.
| Supreme Court | Court of Appeals | Circuit Court | District Court | Probate Court |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan election - Eight-year terms | Nonpartisan election - Six-year terms | Nonpartisan election - Six-year terms | Nonpartisan election - Six-year terms | Nonpartisan election - Six-year terms |
Supreme Court elections
- See also: Nonpartisan election of judges
The seven justices of the Michigan Supreme Court are chosen by partisan nomination followed by nonpartisan elections. They serve eight-year terms and must be re-elected if they wish to remain on the court.[1] For more information on these elections, visit the Michigan judicial elections page.
Incumbent judges seeking re-election may file an affidavit of candidacy requesting to be placed on the ballot, while non-incumbent candidates must either file a nominating petition or obtain a partisan nomination at a party convention. Incumbency is noted on the ballot, though party affiliation is not.[1]
To read more about judicial elections in Michigan, click here.
Federal courts
The federal district courts in Michigan are the:
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
Appeals from these districts go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.[2]
Active judges
Eastern District
| Judge | Appointed By | Assumed Office | Bachelors | Law |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 12, 2006 - |
University of Michigan, 1979 |
Detroit College of Law, 1983 |
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| June 12, 2006 - |
Albion College, 1976 |
University of San Diego School of Law, 1979 |
||
| August 18, 2008 - |
Marquette University, 1984 |
St. Louis University School of Law, 1987 |
||
| June 22, 2010 - |
University of Michigan, 1974 |
Harvard Law School, 1977 |
||
| December 7, 2012 - |
Georgetown University, 1981 |
Georgetown University Law Center, 1986 |
||
| March 14, 2014 - |
University of Michigan, 1981 |
University of Michigan Law, 1996 |
||
| March 14, 2014 - |
University of Michigan, 1989 |
Northwestern University Law, 1992 |
||
| March 14, 2014 - |
University of Michigan, 1990 |
Harvard Law, 1993 |
||
| March 17, 2014 - |
University of Michigan, 1980 |
George Washington University Law Center, 1983 |
||
| December 21, 2021 - |
University of Michigan, 1993 |
University of Detroit, Mercy School of Law, 1996 |
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| December 15, 2022 - |
Albion College, 1991 |
University of Michigan Law School, 1994 |
||
| March 9, 2023 - |
Morehouse College, 2004 |
Georgetown University Law Center, 2007 |
||
| November 9, 2023 - |
University of Michigan, 1995 |
Wayne State University Law School, 1999 |
||
| November 13, 2023 - |
University of Michigan, 2001 |
The George Washington University Law School, 2006 |
||
| April 15, 2024 - |
University of Michigan, 2007 |
Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2010 |
The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.
- Democrat appointed: 12
- Republican appointed: 3
Western District
| Judge | Appointed By | Assumed Office | Bachelors | Law |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 13, 2007 - |
Lehigh University, 1972 |
University of Detroit, Mercy School of Law, 1975 |
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| July 16, 2007 - |
Calvin College, 1982 |
University of Michigan Law School, 1985 |
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| September 23, 2020 - |
University of Michigan, 1994 |
Wayne State University Law School, 1997 |
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| December 21, 2021 - |
University of Michigan |
University of Wisconsin |
The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.
- Democrat appointed: 1
- Republican appointed: 3
District map
Judicial selection
Judges who sit on the federal district courts are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. These judges serve life terms. To read more about the judges on these courts, click here.
Bankruptcy courts
There are two federal bankruptcy courts in Michigan. These courts have subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. The federal bankruptcy courts in Michigan are:
- United States bankruptcy court, Eastern District of Michigan
- United States bankruptcy court, Western District of Michigan
State supreme court
- See also: Michigan Supreme Court
Founded in 1805, the Michigan Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Elizabeth Clement.[3][4]
Most cases involve review of Michigan Court of Appeals decisions, but the court also hears judicial misconduct cases. The court has original jurisdiction over some cases, such as bypass appeals. The court also exercises broad superintending control over all the state courts in Michigan.[3][5]
The following judges sit on the court:
| Office | Name | Party | Date assumed office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan Supreme Court | Richard Bernstein | Democratic | January 1, 2015 |
| Michigan Supreme Court | Megan Cavanagh | Democratic | January 1, 2019 |
| Michigan Supreme Court | Elizabeth Clement | Republican | 2017 |
| Michigan Supreme Court | Kyra Harris Bolden | Democratic | January 1, 2023 |
| Michigan Supreme Court | David Viviano | Republican | 2013 |
| Michigan Supreme Court | Elizabeth Welch | Democratic | January 1, 2021 |
| Michigan Supreme Court | Brian Zahra | Republican | 2011 |
State court of appeals
- See also: Michigan Court of Appeals
The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in Michigan. It is divided into four districts. The court was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, Article VI, Section 1, under which the State of Michigan has "one court of justice."[3][6][7]
| “ | The judicial power of the state is vested exclusively in one court of justice which shall be divided into one supreme court, one court of appeals, one trial court of general jurisdiction known as the circuit court, one probate court, and courts of limited jurisdiction that the legislature may establish by a two-thirds vote of the members elected to and serving in each house.[8] | ” |
| —The Constitution of Michigan of 1963, [9] | ||
Due to reduced filings, legislation was enacted in 2012 to gradually reduce the number of judges from 28 to 24 through attrition.[3] As of March 2021, the Michigan Court of Appeals included 25 judgeships.[10]
In 1965, when the Court of Appeals first assembled, it had nine judges: Chief Judge T. John Lesinski, Chief Judge pro tempore John W. Fitzgerald, Judge Robert B. Burns, Judge John H. Gillis, Judge Donald E. Holbrook, Judge Thomas Giles Kavanagh, Judge Louis D. McGregor, Judge Timothy C. Quinn and Judge John D. Watts. The court had offices in three cities: Lansing, Detroit and Grand Rapids. The court opened another office in Southfield in 1994, which was moved to Troy in 2004.[6]
Trial courts
Court of claims
- See also: Michigan Court of Claims
The Court of Claims is a court of limited jurisdiction that hears litigation against the State of Michigan. Cases heard by the court, according to its website, may include: "highway defect, medical malpractice, contracts, constitutional claims, prisoner litigation, tax-related suits, and other claims for money damages."[11]
In 2013, Public Act 164 restructured the court. The act required that the Michigan Supreme Court assign four Court of Appeals judges to the Court of Claims. Previously, the 30th Circuit Court (Ingham County) handled cases against the state.[11][12]
Circuit courts
- See also: Michigan Circuit Court
Circuit courts in Michigan handle felony criminal cases and civil cases with claims of more than $25,000. The family division handles all cases regarding "divorce, paternity, adoptions, personal protection actions, emancipation of minors, treatment and testing of infectious disease, safe delivery of newborns, name changes, juvenile offenses, ... and child abuse and neglect." The circuit court also hears cases appealed from lower trial courts.[13][14]
District courts
- See also: Michigan District Courts
The Michigan District Courts are limited jurisdiction trial courts. There are 105 district courts in Michigan.[15]
The courts handle:
- Civil litigation under $25,000 excluding equity and small claims under $3,000
- Misdemeanors, ordinance violations with sentences less than one year
- Preliminary trials on felony charges
- Landlord/tenant or summary proceedings
- Jury trials[13][16][17]
Probate courts
- See also: Michigan Probate Courts
The Michigan Probate Courts are trial courts in Michigan that have jurisdiction over all matters involving estates and the people involved in their management. There are 78 probate courts in Michigan.[14]
Municipal courts
- See also: Michigan Municipal Courts
There are just four municipal courts in the state of Michigan. While most municipalities have created a district court, a few chose instead to retain their own judicial power in the form of a municipal court.[14]
In other states
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Michigan," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, "About the Court," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Michigan Courts, "About the Supreme Court," accessed October 29, 2014 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "about" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ The Detroit News, "Michigan Supreme Court elects Elizabeth Clement as chief justice," November 21, 2022
- ↑ Justia, "Michigan Supreme Court Decisions," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Michigan Courts, "Court of Appeals History," archived October 1, 2015
- ↑ Michigan Courts, "Current Judges," archived January 21, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "Michigan State Constitution," accessed March 3, 2021 (Article VI § 1)
- ↑ Michigan Courts, "COA Judges," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Michigan Courts, "Michigan Court of Claims," accessed March 3, 2021
- ↑ mLive, "Snyder signs controversial bill moving Michigan Court of Claims: 'Let's keep improving things'," November 12, 2013
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Michigan Courts, "Michigan's Current Court System," accessed March 3, 2021
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Michigan Courts, "Michigan Trial Courts," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ Michigan Courts, "Types of Courts," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ Mason County, Michigan, "79th District Court," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ Michigan Courts, "Jury Management," accessed March 8, 2021
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan
State courts:
Michigan Supreme Court • Michigan Court of Appeals • Michigan Circuit Court • Michigan District Courts • Michigan Probate Courts
State resources:
Courts in Michigan • Michigan judicial elections • Judicial selection in Michigan
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