Know your vote. Take a look at your sample ballot now!

Dana Margaret Hathaway

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
BP-Initials-UPDATED.png
This page was last updated during the official's most recent election or appointment. Please contact us with any updates.
Dana Margaret Hathaway
Image of Dana Margaret Hathaway
Michigan 3rd Circuit Court
Tenure

2013 - Present

Term ends

2031

Years in position

12

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Dana Margaret Hathaway is a judge of the Michigan 3rd Circuit Court. She assumed office in 2013. Her current term ends on January 1, 2031.

Hathaway ran for re-election for judge of the Michigan 3rd Circuit Court. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Hathaway is an assistant prosecuting attorney for Wayne County. Prior to this, she worked in private practice. Before entering the legal profession, Hathaway worked as a forensic chemist in the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Wayne County, Michigan (2024)

General election

General election for Michigan 3rd Circuit Court (18 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Michigan 3rd Circuit Court on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Annette Berry (Nonpartisan)
 
7.6
 
269,327
Karen Braxton (Nonpartisan)
 
6.3
 
224,216
Bridget Hathaway (Nonpartisan)
 
6.3
 
223,596
Jerome Cavanagh (Nonpartisan)
 
6.3
 
222,848
Image of Regina Thomas
Regina Thomas (Nonpartisan)
 
6.2
 
219,950
Kathleen McCarthy (Nonpartisan)
 
6.0
 
212,613
Tracy Green (Nonpartisan)
 
5.9
 
210,061
Kevin Cox (Nonpartisan)
 
5.9
 
207,791
Image of Dana Margaret Hathaway
Dana Margaret Hathaway (Nonpartisan)
 
5.8
 
205,401
Leslie Smith (Nonpartisan)
 
5.3
 
188,925
Image of Qiana Lillard
Qiana Lillard (Nonpartisan)
 
5.1
 
179,388
Catherine Heise (Nonpartisan)
 
5.1
 
178,898
Edward Ewell Jr. (Nonpartisan)
 
5.1
 
178,826
Prentis Edwards Jr. (Nonpartisan)
 
4.8
 
171,589
Paul Cusick (Nonpartisan)
 
4.7
 
167,134
Adel Harb (Nonpartisan)
 
4.6
 
164,484
Lawrence Elassal (Nonpartisan)
 
4.6
 
161,962
Charles Hegarty (Nonpartisan)
 
4.3
 
152,798

Total votes: 3,539,807
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Hathaway in this election.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in Wayne County, Michigan (2018)

General election

General election for Michigan 3rd Circuit Court (16 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Michigan 3rd Circuit Court on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dana Margaret Hathaway
Dana Margaret Hathaway (Nonpartisan)
 
7.8
 
248,761
Image of Deborah Thomas
Deborah Thomas (Nonpartisan)
 
7.6
 
240,778
Annette Berry (Nonpartisan)
 
7.5
 
239,572
Karen Braxton (Nonpartisan)
 
7.1
 
227,278
Jerome Cavanagh (Nonpartisan)
 
7.0
 
221,566
Kathleen McCarthy (Nonpartisan)
 
6.7
 
212,946
Kevin Cox (Nonpartisan)
 
6.5
 
208,304
Leslie Smith (Nonpartisan)
 
5.9
 
188,721
Catherine Heise (Nonpartisan)
 
5.9
 
187,777
Image of Qiana Lillard
Qiana Lillard (Nonpartisan)
 
5.6
 
178,880
Prentis Edwards Jr. (Nonpartisan)
 
5.5
 
175,133
Gregory Bill (Nonpartisan)
 
5.4
 
171,153
Adel Harb (Nonpartisan)
 
5.3
 
168,962
Edward Ewell Jr. (Nonpartisan)
 
5.3
 
167,159
Paul Cusick (Nonpartisan)
 
5.2
 
165,694
Charles Hegarty (Nonpartisan)
 
4.9
 
156,625
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.7
 
21,211

Total votes: 3,180,520
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2012

See also: Michigan judicial elections, 2012

Hathaway advanced from the primary election, receiving 18.2 percent of the vote. She was one of six candidates competing for three seats on the 3rd Circuit Court. Adams was elected with 21.8 percent of the vote.[2][3][4]

Endorsement

Bar association ratings

The Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association rated candidates running for judicial office in 2012. Candidates were given one of five ratings: Outstanding, Well Qualified, Qualified, Not Qualified or No Rating.

Hathaway was rated as Qualified.[5]

2010

See also: Michigan judicial elections, 2010

Hathaway ran for a seat on the Oakland County Probate Court in 2010. She was defeated by Kathleen Ryan in the general election on November 2, 2010.[6][7]

Selection method

See also: Nonpartisan election of judges

The 221 judges of the Michigan Circuit Courts are selected in an identical manner, each serving six-year terms. They are chosen in nonpartisan elections and must face re-election if they wish to continue serving. Candidates are placed on the ballot via nonpartisan primaries or by nominating petitions.[8] Sitting judges who reach age 70 are allowed to serve out the remainder of their term.[9]

Selection of the chief judge

The chief judges of the circuit courts are appointed by the state supreme court to two-year terms.[8]

Qualifications
To be elected to either of these courts, a judge must:[8]

  • be a qualified elector of his or her district;
  • be licensed to practice law in the state;
  • have at least five years of law practice experience; and
  • be under the age of 70.


Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Dana Margaret Hathaway did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Noteworthy cases

Man who shot, killed Renisha McBride sentenced to at least 17 years in prison (2014)

See also: 3rd Circuit Court, Michigan

Judge Hathaway, on September 3, 2014, handed down a 17 to 32-year prison sentence for Theodore Wafer, who was convicted of shooting and killing 19-year-old Renisha McBride.[10][11]


McBride knocked on Wafer's door after she had a car accident on November 2, 2013. It was early in the morning, still dark, and Wafer was awoken by the knocking on his door. Thinking that McBride was an intruder, grabbed his shotgun and, when he opened the door, shot her. McBride was unarmed. The case also had racial undertones, as McBride was black and Wafer is white. However, the judge stated that she didn't think the situation had anything to do with race.[12]


Prosecutors asked for a second-degree murder charge, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years, as well as an additional two years for unlawful gun use. Wafer's attorney highlighted her client's remorse and argued that, at his age (Wafer was 55 at the time of sentencing), more than 10 years in prison was a "death sentence."[10]


The judge explained that the shooting was, in fact, a murder, and sentenced Wafer accordingly, telling him:

I am confident that if you weren't going to prison today, you would never commit another crime...I fully recognize that you did not bring these circumstances to your doorstep. They arrived there. But once you did, you made the choices that brought you here today.[11][13]


After 17 years, Wafter is eligible for parole, though 32 years is his maximum sentence.[10]

See also


External links

Footnotes