Michigan Court of Appeals

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Portal:Intermediate appellate courts in the states

The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in Michigan. It is divided into four districts with 28 judges altogether. 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."[1]

Overview

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.

When it first began operation in 1965, the bench of the Court of Appeals had nine judges: Chief Judge T. John Lesinski, Chief Judge pro tempore John W. Fitzgerald, and Judges Robert B. Burns, John H. Gillis, Donald E. Holbrook, Thomas Giles Kavanagh, Louis D. McGregor, Timothy C. Quinn, and John D. Watts. Ronald L. Dzierbicki was Clerk of the Court. Offices were originally located only in Lansing, Detroit and Grand Rapids. The Southfield office was opened in 1994, and was moved to Troy in 2004.

2012 election

First District

The following is a list of candidates for the 2012 Court of Appeals First District election:
CandidateIncumbencyPrimary VoteElection Vote
RiordanMichael Riordan   Yes   
KellyKirsten Frank Kelly   Yes   

Second District

The following is a list of candidates for the 2012 Court of Appeals Second District election:
CandidateIncumbencyPrimary VoteElection Vote
JansenKathleen Jansen   Yes   
ServittoDeborah Servitto   Yes   
GleicherElizabeth Gleicher   Yes   

Third District

The following is a list of candidates for the 2012 Court of Appeals Third District election:
CandidateIncumbencyPrimary VoteElection Vote
MurphyWilliam B. Murphy   Yes   
BoonstraMark Boonstra   Yes   
BeckeringJane Beckering   Yes   
ShapiroDouglas Shapiro   Yes   

Fourth District

The following is a list of candidates for the 2012 Court of Appeals Fourth District election:
CandidateIncumbencyPrimary VoteElection Vote
BorrelloStephen Borrello   Yes   
KrauseAmy Krause   Yes   
O'ConnellPeter O'Connell   Yes   

Court Size Increases

In 1969, the Legislature increased the size of the bench to 12 judges, and further increases occurred in 1974 (18 judges), in 1988 (24 judges), and in 1993 (28 judges). During this same period, annual filings ranged from a low of 1,235 in 1965 to a high of 13,352 in 1992. By the latter half of the 1990s, the Court's filings averaged more than 8,000 cases annually.

Districts

The Court of Appeals is divided into four districts with the following offices:

Organization

Since its inception, the Michigan Court of Appeals has distinguished itself as an innovative institution. Its central staff of research attorneys was the first of its kind in the United States. Its mainframe docket computer system was a national prototype when it was implemented in 1978. That legacy system was retired in July 1999, in favor of a client/server browser system that will allow the Court to take full advantage of electronic filing and other technological advances during the next decade.

Organizationally, the Court has continued to evolve as well. Originally, all filings were processed through the Lansing office of the Court, and new files were only distributed among the outlying district offices of the Clerk after jurisdiction was confirmed in mandatory cases and leave was granted in discretionary matters. In 1998, this process was decentralized, and the district offices of the Clerk are now capable of fully processing all cases. Case management has been substantially streamlined and each case is now moved towards final disposition as quickly as possible under the timelines set by the court rules.

The Court's Internal Operating Procedures were first published during this same period. (See 231 Mich App.) The IOPs have proven to be of great value to the bar and their use by attorneys and individuals appearing before the Court in pro per has also improved the Court's ability to resolve each case smoothly and quickly.

The Court of Appeals' mandate drives its continued evolution as a critical element of the justice system in Michigan: "To secure the just, speedy, and economical determination of every action and to avoid the consequences of error that does not affect the substantial rights of the parties." (Michigan Court Rule 1.105.)[1]

Judges

Judges of the Court of Appeals serve six-year terms.[2]

Current Judges and Year Elected/Appointed to Bench

Proposed budget cuts

Gov. Rick Snyder has recommended that the Court of Appeals reduce its number of judges due to budgetary concerns. 28 Court of Appeals judgeships are rumored to be cut. Chief Judge William B. Murphy called on the court to be part of the "shared sacrifice", explaining "The Court wants to be part of the solution, not part of the problem."[3]

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ History of the Court: State Page
  2. ↑ Michigan Constitution, Article VI, Section 9
  3. ↑ MLive.com, "West Michigan would lose State Appeals Court judge under Gov. Snyder's plan", April 14, 2011
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