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Donald Allen (Michigan)
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This judge is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
Donald L. Allen is a judge for the 55th District Court in Michigan.[1] He was appointed to this position by Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm on December 22, 2008, replacing Rosemarie Aquilina.[2] He was re-elected in 2010 and 2016.[3]
Education
Allen graduated in 1983 from Wayne State University Law School.[4]
Career
Allen was the director of the Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) from June 2006 until his appointment to the district court at the end of 2008. He also served as deputy legal counsel of Governor Granholm's legal staff where he advised the executive office on responsibilities for emergency management and homeland security, civil rights, and criminal justice. He began his career as an assistant attorney general in the Michigan Department of Attorney General. He worked there from February 1988 through September 2005, serving in the Social Services, Revenue, Corrections, and Health Care Fraud divisions, as well as serving as a member of the Attorney General's Litigation Advisory Board.[4]
Elections
2016
Michigan held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election occurred on August 2, 2016. The candidate filing deadline for incumbents was March 21, and the deadline for non-incumbents was April 19.[5] Incumbent Donald L. Allen ran unopposed in the 55th District general election.[3]
| 55th District, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
 Donald L. Allen Incumbent | ||
| Source: Michigan Department of State, "2016 General Election Official Results," November 28, 2016 | ||
2010
- See also: Michigan judicial elections, 2010
Allen defeated challenger Paul T. Joseph with 63.01 percent of the vote in the general election on November 2, 2010.[6]
In a July 8 debate, Judge Allen said that if re-elected, he would like to increase enrollment in the district court's sobriety court. The sobriety court is "an intense, therapeutic court" for habitual drunk driving offenders. Allen said, "We’re continuously graduating graduates as a result of the help they get from the sobriety court."[2]
In the August 3 primary to narrow the race down to 2 finalists for the November 2 ballot, the vote was:
- Donald L. Allen, Jr.: 10,480 (51.60%)
- Paul T. Joseph: 3,612 (17.79%)
- Patrick J. Crowley: 3,456 (17.04%)
- Randie Kay Black: 2,722 (13.40%)
- Write-In: 39 (0.19%)
Sobriety court
Judge Allen has been a champion of the District Court's Sobriety Court, which was established in 2004. In a ceremony held on April 27, 2010, to celebrate the 17th graduating class of the program, he said, "Our Sobriety Court continues to be a win-win situation, proving rehabilitation effectively protects the community, saves significant taxpayer money, and returns citizens to productive lives. We are very proud of our program, our participants, and of the community support we consistently receive, The long term success of Sobriety Court is based upon close supervision of probationers by an interdisciplinary team dedicated to the safety of the community."[7]
Participants can be in the sobriety court for up to three years. From its inception in 2004 through April 2010, the program successfully graduated 194 participants.[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Michigan Courts, "Ingham County Directory," accessed April 26, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lansing City Pulse, "Debating the 55th Seat, July 28, 2010
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Unofficial Candidate Listing," April 19, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Biography of Donald Allen
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Election Dates," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Michigan Department of State, "2010 Michigan Official General Election Results," November 2, 2010
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Legal News, "55th District Court Holds 17th Sobriety Court Graduation," May 6, 2010
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan
State courts:
Michigan Supreme Court • Michigan Court of Appeals • Michigan Circuit Court • Michigan Court of Claims • Michigan District Courts • Michigan Municipal Courts • Michigan Probate Courts
State resources:
Courts in Michigan • Michigan judicial elections • Judicial selection in Michigan
