Kirsten Frank Kelly

Kirsten Frank Kelly
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Current Court Information:
Michigan First District Court of Appeals
Title:	Judge
Position:	District 1
Service:
Active:	2000-2019
Past position:	3rd Circuit Court Presiding Judge
Personal History
Party:	Republican
Bachelors:	Michigan State University, 1978
Law School:	University of Detroit School of Law, 1981
Candidate 2012:
Candidate for:	Court of Appeals
State:	Michigan
Election information 2012:
Incumbent:	Yes
Election date:	11/6/2012
Election vote:	100%A

Kirsten Frank Kelly is a judge on the Michigan First District Court of Appeals. This district encompasses Wayne, Monroe, Lenawee, Calhoun, and Hillsdale counties. Judge Kelly was elected to this position in 2000 and her current term expires January 1, 2019.

Education

Judge Kelly received a B.A. degree from Michigan State University in 1978, and earned her J.D. from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1981.

Career

Before she was elected to the Court of Appeals, Judge Kelly was a municipal judge (three terms), a judge of the Wayne Circuit Court (3rd Circuit Court), and presiding judge of the Family Division of the Wayne Circuit Court.

Judicial philosophy

In a referendum with the Eastside Republican Club for the November 7, 2006 General Election, Judge Kelly recognized her role as judge. Kelly articulated a philosophy of judicial restraint, saying, "We are bound by legislation and precedents the Supreme Court gives us." She said the role of a Michigan judge is to apply the law without creating new law. Kelly said, "Policy decisions do not belong to the judicial branch."

2012 election

Judge Kelly was re-elected after running unopposed in the general election on November 6, 2012.

See also: Michigan judicial elections, 2012

Notable cases

Court rejects bid to remove judges in Kilpatrick case

According to the Detroit News, the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected the Wayne County Prosecutor's effort to remove every judge in the city's 36th District Court from overseeing proceedings in the criminal case against then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. With that ruling, the court discarded any idea of impropriety on the entire bench. In an opinion authored by Judge Kirsten Frank Kelly, and signed by Kurtis Wilder and Christopher Murray, the court wrote, "That the judges of the 36th District Court may have relationships with witnesses beyond those prescribed in the court rule does not warrant recusal, in absence of showing bias (and none is alleged), because the role of the judge in a preliminary exam is not to gauge guilt or innocence, and generally does not require making credibility determinations."

Court rules in favor of property owner

In a decision authored by Judge Kirsten Frank Kelly and signed by Judge Kurtis Wilder, the Michigan Court of Appeals did not uphold an Oakland County circuit court ruling that a tenant was solely responsible for a fire started in her apartment. Instead, the Court of Appeals held that both the tenant and her co-signer could be found "jointly and serverally obligated to pay for any damage they caused to the premises."

External links

• Institute of Continuing Legal Education
• Eastside Republican Club
• Michigan Court of Appeals Annual Report 2005
• November 7, 2006 General Election Results
• Governor and Supreme Court Chief Justice Appoint Members to Child Support Coordinating Council
• The Detroit News: Appeals Court rejects bid to remove judges from Kilpatrick case
• Court reverses office shooting verdict
• The News Herald
• Lansing State Journal: Michigan court reverses office shooting verdict

References