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Karen
Fort Hood
Judge Hood was elected to the Court in 2002. She was born in Detroit, Michigan, received
her undergraduate degree in 1980 from the Regents College of the University of the
State of New York at Albany, and her law degree in 1989 from the Detroit College of
Law. Judge Hood's professional affiliations include the Association of Black Judges
of Michigan, the Wolverine Bar Association, the National Bar Association and the Michigan
Association of Drug Court Professionals.
Term expires January 1, 2015.
Kirsten
Frank Kelly
Judge Kelly was elected to the Court in 2000. Previously, she was a municipal
judge (three terms), a judge of the Wayne Circuit Court, and presiding judge of the
Family Division of the Wayne Circuit Court. She received a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Michigan State University in 1978, and a Juris Doctor degree from University
of Detroit School of Law in 1981.
Term expires January 1, 2013.
Christopher
M. Murray
Judge Murray was appointed to the Court in 2002. Previously, he served as a judge
on the Wayne Circuit Court in the Family Division, as Deputy Legal Counsel to Governor
John Engler and as an attorney in private practice. Judge Murray is the former Chairman
of the State Board of Ethics and has served as a member of the Local Government Claims
Review Board. He is a graduate of Hillsdale College and the University of Detroit
School of Law.
Term expires January 1, 2015.
Cynthia Diane Stephens
Judge Stephens was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2008. Prior to that appointment,
she served as a general jurisdiction trial judge for 23 years. She was appointed to the Wayne
County Circuit Court in 1985, after serving as a judge of the 36th District Court. Judge
Stephens was the Chief Judge Pro tempore, Mediation Tribunal Chair and Presiding civil division
judge of Wayne County Circuit Court for 8 years.
An Emory Law school graduate, Judge Stephens has been admitted to practice in Georgia, Texas and
Michigan. Prior to her election to the bench in 1981, she served as Vice-Chair of the Wayne
County Charter Commission, Associate General Counsel to the Michigan Senate, Regional Director
for the National Conference of Black Lawyers Atlanta office, and consultant to the National
League of Cities Veterans Discharge Upgrade Project.
She has been active in bar work, including 16 years as a Commissioner of the State Bar of
Michigan, chairing its Justice Initiatives Committee, Communications Committee and Children’s
Task Force. Judge Stephens is a former chair of the Association of Black Judges of Michigan,
a former member of the executive Board of the National Bar Association and its Judicial Council
and a member of the American Bar Association. She was awarded the State Bar of Michigan’s
highest honor, the Roberts P. Hudson Award, in 2005.
Judge Stephens has served as adjunct faculty at Wayne State University Law School, the Detroit
College of Law and the University of Detroit Mercy Law School. She has also served as faculty
member for the National Judicial College and the Michigan Judicial Institute. She was a
contributing author to the Lawyers Cooperative’s Michigan Nonstandard Jury Instructions, as well
as numerous articles on subjects ranging from jury selection to ethics.
Judge Stephens has served on numerous civic boards and commissions including New Detroit, the
Inner City Business Improvement Forum, the Detroit Metropolitan Association Board of Trustees
for the United Church of Christ, the Greater Detroit Area Health Care Council and the Girl Scouts.
She is a resident of Detroit.
Term expires January 1, 2011.
Michael
J. Talbot
Judge Talbot was appointed to the Court in 1998. Previously, he had served as a judge
of the Wayne Circuit, Detroit Recorder's, and Detroit Common Pleas courts and worked
as an attorney in private practice. He is a member of the Judicial Tenure Commission.
He received his bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and his law degree from
the University of Detroit.
Term expires January 1, 2015.
Kurtis
T. Wilder
Judge Wilder was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Governor John Engler in December,
1998, and was elected in 2000 and was reelected in 2004. Previously, Judge Wilder
was Chief Judge of the Washtenaw County Trial Court. Before taking the bench, Judge
Wilder practiced law with the law firms of Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C.
(Lansing) and Butzel Long, P.C., (Detroit). He graduated from the University of Michigan
with an A.B. degree in Political Science in 1981, and from the University of Michigan
Law School with a Juris Doctor degree in 1984. Judge Wilder holds memberships in the
State Bar of Michigan; the Fellows of the Michigan State Bar Foundation; the Michigan
Judges Association; the Association of Black Judges of Michigan; the Federalist Society,
Board of Advisors, Lawyers Division-Michigan Chapter; and the Wolverine Bar Association.
He has served on numerous court-related advisory committees by appointment of the
Michigan Supreme Court, is a member of the State Bar of Michigan Standing Committee
on Justice Initiatives, and is former chair of the State of Michigan Community Corrections
Advisory Board and a former member of the State Bar of Michigan Judicial Ethics Subcommittee.
Term expires January 1, 2011.
Brian
K. Zahra
Judge Zahra was appointed to the Court in 1999. Previously, he served as a judge
of the Wayne Circuit Court, he was a law clerk to US District Court Judge Zatkoff,
an adjunct professor at University of Detroit Law School, and he worked as an attorney
in private practice. He received his bachelor's degree from Wayne State University
and his law degree from the University of Detroit Law School. He has served on numerous legal
committees and boards. His current appointments include service on the Committee on Model Civil
Jury Instructions and the Michigan Board of Law Examiners.
Term expires January 1, 2013.
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