|
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.
Michael J. Riordan
Governor Rick Snyder appointed Judge Riordan to the Court on March 16, 2012. Previously, Judge Riordan
served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan; as an Assistant General
Counsel for the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network; and as a Senior Attorney in the Enforcement Division
of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. He also serves as an adjunct professor of securities
regulation and business organizations at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Judge Riordan has
been a member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Board of Commissioners since 2006. He is president of the
Federal Bar Association of the Eastern District of Michigan and is a past-president of the Incorporated
Society of Irish-American Lawyers. He also serves as secretary of the University of Detroit Mercy School
of Law Alumni Association. Judge Riordan received his BA from Michigan State University and his JD
from the University of Detroit School of Law.
Term expires January 1, 2013.
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 Childrens
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 Michigans
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 Cooperatives 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, 2017.
Michael J. Talbot
Judge Talbot was appointed to the Court in 1998. Previously, Judge Talbot had been appointed by governors
of Michigan to serve as a judge of the Wayne Circuit, Detroit Recorder's, and Detroit Common Pleas courts.
Judge Talbot also worked as an attorney in private practice. He was a member of the Judicial Tenure Commission
from 2004 to 2010 and presently serves by appointment of the Michigan Supreme Court as chair of the Court
Reporting Board of Review. Judge Talbot is a Trustee of Madonna University, Sacred Heart Major Seminary and
the AOD Endowment Fund. He is the past chair of the Board of Education for the Archdiocese of Detroit and
presently serves as Chair of the AOD Review Board. Judge Talbot 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 and 2010. 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, and on numerous State Bar of Michigan committees. Judge Wilder is also a former chair of the State of Michigan
Community Corrections Advisory Board.
Term expires January 1, 2017.
|
