Judges appointed by Gretchen Whitmer
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This page lists judges appointed by Gretchen Whitmer (D) during her term as Governor of Michigan. As of today, the total number of Whitmer appointees was 47. For the full profile of Whitmer, click here.
As of December 2018, governors in Michigan were responsible for appointing judges to the seven-member supreme court and the 28-member appellate court, as well as certain local courts, in the event of a midterm vacancy. To remain on the bench, the appointed judge must run for election to the seat in the next general election.[1]
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some Michigan judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. Whitmer.
Appointed judges
The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state. These lists are updated automatically with new appointments.
State Courts
Supreme Court
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Michigan Supreme Court |
January 1, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Michigan Supreme Court |
May 21, 2025 - Present |
Court of Appeals
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals |
April 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals |
May 13, 2025 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals |
March 7, 2022 - May 13, 2025 |
|
|
Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals |
February 20, 2024 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals |
March 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals |
May 19, 2025 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals |
August 12, 2024 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals |
April 18, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals |
May 12, 2025 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals |
March 15, 2024 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 4th District Court of Appeals |
January 9, 2023 - Present |
Local Courts
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Alpena County Probate Court |
2021 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 15th District Court |
December 30, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 16th Circuit Court |
April 13, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 23rd District Court |
November 1, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 29th District Court |
2020 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 30th Circuit Court |
2020 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 36th District Court |
April 18, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 36th District Court |
2021 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 36th District Court |
June 3, 2019 - April 1, 2022 |
|
|
Michigan 36th District Court |
October 17, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 36th District Court |
2021 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 36th District Court |
December 27, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 36th District Court |
November 16, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 36th District Court |
January 13, 2020 - October 26, 2023 |
|
|
Michigan 3rd Circuit Court |
November 7, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd Circuit Court |
December 4, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd Circuit Court |
October 10, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd Circuit Court |
May 16, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd Circuit Court |
April 18, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd Circuit Court |
April 18, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd Circuit Court |
July 24, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd Circuit Court |
September 18, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd Circuit Court |
March 13, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 3rd Circuit Court |
May 6, 2019 - March 7, 2022 |
|
|
Michigan 50th District Court |
January 9, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 54A District Court |
April 18, 2022 - January 1, 2023 |
|
|
Michigan 55th Circuit Court |
October 11, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 61st District Court |
April 18, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 67th District Court |
||
|
Michigan 6th Circuit Court |
2020 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 7th Circuit Court |
2020 - Present |
|
|
Michigan 90th District Court |
February 14, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Montmorency County Probate Court |
2021 - Present |
|
|
Wayne County Probate Court |
November 1, 2022 - Present |
Judicial selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Michigan
| Judicial selection in Michigan | |
 | |
| Michigan Supreme Court | |
| Method: | Michigan method |
| Term: | 8 years |
| Michigan Court of Appeals | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 6 years |
| Michigan Circuit Courts | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 6 years |
| Michigan District Courts | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 6 years |
| Michigan Probate Courts | |
| Method: | Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 6 years |
Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.
This article covers how state court judges are selected in Michigan, including:
- Michigan Supreme Court,
- Michigan Court of Appeals,
- Michigan Circuit Court, and
- Limited jurisdiction courts
As of April 2025, the selection of state court judges in Michigan occurred primarily through nonpartisan elections, although supreme court judges were selected through the Michigan method.[2] All judges wishing to serve again must run for re-election at the end of their terms.[3]
Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.
| Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method[4] |
|---|
|
|
| State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia[4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Supreme Court (of 53)[5] | Courts of Appeal (of 46) | Trial Courts (of 147) |
| Partisan elections (PE) | 8 | 6 | 39 |
| Nonpartisan elections (NPE) | 13 | 16 | 34 |
| Legislative elections (LE) | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA) | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Assisted appointment (AA) | 22 | 18 | 46 |
| Combination or other | 3[6] | 1[7] | 17[8] |
State profile
| Demographic data for Michigan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Michigan | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 9,917,715 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 56,539 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 79% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 14% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.6% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 4.7% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 89.6% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 26.9% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $49,576 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 20% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Michigan. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Michigan
Michigan voted for the Democratic candidate in four out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, 12 are located in Michigan, accounting for 5.83 percent of the total pivot counties.[9]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Michigan had 11 Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 6.08 and 4.00 of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More Michigan coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Michigan
- United States congressional delegations from Michigan
- Public policy in Michigan
- Endorsers in Michigan
- Michigan fact checks
- More...
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Michigan," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ The Michigan-Ohio method involves candidates for a nonpartisan general election being selected using partisan processes.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedgeneral - ↑ 4.0 4.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
- ↑ Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
- ↑ Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.
- ↑ Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.
- ↑ Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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
