Jennifer Johnsen (Michigan 17th Circuit Court, Michigan, candidate 2024)
From Ballotpedia
Jennifer Johnsen ran for election for judge of the Michigan 17th Circuit Court. She was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.[source]
Johnsen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Jennifer Johnsen provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on September 22, 2024:
- Birth place: Manistee, Michigan
- High school: Bear Lake High School
- Bachelor's: Michigan State University, 1999
- J.D.: Wayne State University Law School, 2003
- Gender: Female
- Profession: Attorney at Law
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign slogan: Experience matters. Dedication to the Family Division matters more.
- Campaign website
- Campaign endorsements
- Campaign Facebook
Elections
General election
General election for Michigan 17th Circuit Court
Charissa Chaiyiang Huang and Jennifer Johnsen ran in the general election for Michigan 17th Circuit Court on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| Charissa Chaiyiang Huang (Nonpartisan) | ||
 | Jennifer Johnsen (Nonpartisan)  | |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Michigan 17th Circuit Court
Nick Gumina, Charissa Chaiyiang Huang, Jennifer Johnsen, and Julia Kelly ran in the primary for Michigan 17th Circuit Court on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| Nick Gumina (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Charissa Chaiyiang Huang (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Jennifer Johnsen (Nonpartisan) | |
| Julia Kelly (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Johnsen received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Johnsen's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jennifer Johnsen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Johnsen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I was born and raised in Bear Lake, MI, a small town in northwest lower Michigan. I received my BA in Political Science from Michigan State University in 1999 (Honors College) and my Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University in 2003. I moved to Battle Creek, MI after law school and started my legal career at Legal Services of South Central Michigan where I represented indigent community members in family law, landlord-tenant and public benefit matters. In 2005, I moved to Grand Rapids, MI, where I established my family law practice and started my family. I have been in private practice with Erica Auster since 2006. Since graduation from law school—even before graduation in my work at the Free Legal Aid Clinic in Detroit, MI—I have been practicing almost exclusively family law. I have been an active member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Family Law Council since 2016 and am the current Chair of the FLC’s Court Rules and Professional Ethics and QDRO committees. My family and I have lived in NW Kent County since 2011, and I have four children: stepson Brett (age 30), stepdaughter Hailey (age 26), daughter Scarlett (age 13) and son Tristan (age 8). I also have a grandson, Everett (age 4). In addition to my law firm with Erica, West Michigan Divorce, we also operate Rapid QDRO, PLLC and assist divorced spouses in transferring retirement benefits consistent with their judgment terms. In my spare time, other than spending time with my family, I love live music.
- The open 17th Circuit Court seat for which I am running is in the Family Division of the Circuit Court. Kent County’s Family Division docket, consisting of domestic relations, child abuse and neglect, juvenile court, adoption and PPO/ERPO matters, is one of the busiest dockets in Michigan state court. I have been practicing family law for 21 years and am running for this seat BECAUSE it is in the Family Division, not in spite of it.
- The other candidate running for this judicial seat is not a family law attorney and has no family law experience. Quite often, the Family Division is looked at as a temporary career stepping stone, and the misconception is that a) every judge starts in the Family Division; and b) any lawyer, regardless of his or her legal background, can be a Family Division judge. The reality is that the work in the Family Division is incredibly hard and there is so much about family law that cannot be taught in a book or learned easily. Having judges with no family law background (and a reduced desire to learn the work because the intention is to leave the Family Division as soon as possible) is akin to hiring a podiatrist to perform a heart surgery.
- The jurisdiction of Family Division matters is very long, as it exists until a child reaches the age of majority. In Kent County and in the State of Michigan, generally, judges who are elected and assigned to the Family Division seek other division assignments as soon as possible, resulting in children and families having their cases assigned and reassigned to a judge over and over. This means that traumatized children must tell their stories multiple times to multiple jurists, significant delays occur in the resolution of matters, and attorney fees and expenses increase. I have no desire to do anything but family law, and if elected, I will throw all of my expertise and passion for the work into serving our community.
I do not support mandatory shared parenting legislation, as I believe all families are unique and the best interests of children should be paramount.
I look up to my parents (mom, dad, stepmom and mother-in-law) and my brothers. I want to always maintain a work ethic like theirs and be a mother who raises the kids to be kind, respectful and positive. I would like to follow their examples as a parent, as a professional and as a human being.
This is a nonpartisan position for which I am running; however, appellate attorney, Liisa Speaker, wrote a book called “Kids Caught In The Middle: How Families Are Harmed When Judges Don’t Follow The Law”, which emphasizes the problems that are created when judges with no family law experience try to decide family law cases. The Family Division is strongest when the judges are familiar with the law and all of the dynamics involved and WANT to be there.
For judicial seats, patience, respect and compassion for community members appearing in court are very important characteristics that judges should possess. A judge should always remember that he or she is there to serve the public and to provide well-reasoned decisions free of bias or influence.
The feedback about me has often been that I am “too kind”, but I believe kindness is an asset, and it should not be mistaken for weakness.
Core responsibilities of a judge in the Family Division are to provide all people appearing before the court an opportunity to be heard, to be compassionate but assertive and decisive, and to maintain a respectful environment for court staff, litigants, and attorneys.
I would like to leave the world knowing that I made a positive impact on as many people as possible in life.
I remember watching the Challenger explode on TV in our school’s library. I was 7 years old at the time and in 2nd grade.
I worked as a server at the Cherry Hut in Beulah, MI for seven summers.
I love Gone With The Wind. I named my daughter Scarlett.
Miles Away by Winger.
I have struggled with finding a good life balance. Being in private practice when having babies was hard, and I sometimes feel like I do not give myself credit for all that I do.
Judges can be influential in spearheading pilot and educational programs to try and make the public’s access to and experience with the Family Division better.
My legal philosophy has always been that if I am doing my job well, I am keeping my clients out of court. While this philosophy may be a poor business model, as attorneys make more money the more acrimony there is, I have always been conscientious of the fact that parents are linked together forever and my job is not to make their ability to co-parent worse.
Judge Kathleen Feeney, who was a 17th Circuit Court judge in the Family Division for 20+ years and is now a Michigan Court of Appeals judge, is a model for me of a great Family Division judge. Judge Feeney cares about kids and has one of the kindest hearts. She also cares about family law attorneys and does her part to be supportive of attorneys who do heavy, difficult family law work.
I was rated “Well Qualified” by the Grand Rapids Bar Association in both 2020 and 2024, and rated “Well Qualified” by the Wolverine Bar Association in 2024.
I am running for this seat because it is in the Family Division, and family law is where my passion in the law lies. I have devoted my entire 21-year legal career in helping families in difficult times.
The impression of the general public is that the state judicial seats are partisan. I find that concerning, and it has resulted in significant expense for qualified candidates in gaining ballot access.
My hope is that Dedicated Family legislation is introduced soon, which would be a great step forward in getting judges on the Family Division bench that are qualified and dedicated to the work.
Yes, although I do not believe the Family Division and the unique nature of the work is given as much consideration in the ratings as it should. An attorney can be a brilliant personal injury or criminal defense attorney, but that does not mean the attorney is qualified to serve in the Family Division.
Q: What kind of socks do pirates wear?
A: Aaarrrgyle.
A: Aaarrrgyle.
I have sought only nonpartisan endorsements from judges, referees and colleagues and all our listed on my website, JJ4JUDGE2024.com. The list includes:
Hon. Kathleen Feeney
Hon. Steven Pestka (ret.)
Hon. David Murkowski
Hon. Cori Barkman
Hon. Tina Yost-Johnson
Hon. Patricia Gardner
Hon. G. Patrick Hillary
Hon. Maureen Gottlieb
Hon. T.J. Ackert
Hon. Jennifer Faber
Hon. James Fisher (ret.)
Hon. Jon Van Allsburg
I am required to disclose all
campaign finance activity, and I am a proponent of such requirements, as judges are accountable to the county residents.
campaign finance activity, and I am a proponent of such requirements, as judges are accountable to the county residents.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
