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Latoya Willis
Latoya Willis ran for election for judge of the Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Willis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Latoya Willis earned a bachelor's degree from Western Michigan University in 1997 and a law degree from the University of Detroit, Mercy School of Law in 2002. Her career experience includes working as an attorney.[1]
Willis has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]
- Oakland County Bar Association
- Macomb County Bar Association
- Wolverine Bar Association
- Women Lawyers Association
- Black Women Lawyers Association
- Women Officials Network
- Farmington Hills Police and Fire Benevolence Commission
Elections
2024
See also: Michigan intermediate appellate court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals
Matthew Ackerman defeated Latoya Willis in the general election for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Matthew Ackerman (Nonpartisan)  | 55.0 | 565,378 |
 | Latoya Willis (Nonpartisan) | 45.0 | 461,806 | |
| Total votes: 1,027,184 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Matthew Ackerman and Latoya Willis advanced from the primary for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Lisa Marie Neilson (Nonpartisan)
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Willis received the following endorsements.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Latoya Willis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Willis' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Latoya has over 21 years of hands-on legal experience. For 21 years she has served the citizens of Michigan as an Assistant Prosecutor for the County of Wayne. During that time she has handled over 1000 cases. In 2017, she was promoted to the lead attorney of the Mortgage and Deed Fraud Task Force. This unit focuses on the prosecution of cases involving illegal transfers of real property, mortgage fraud, and criminal enterprises (“paper cases”). Prior to that she was assigned to the Elder and Vulnerable Adult Abuse Unit where she prosecuted serious felonies committed against the senior community and adults with varying forms of physical or cognitive disabilities. She has tried cases before juries and judges of varying subject matter and complexity.
She sits on a number of Boards and Commissions aimed at the improvement of the judicial system and in 2023 she was appointed Chairperson of the Attorney Grievance Commission by the Michigan Supreme Court.
Latoya has been married for over 24 years and is the mother of two college children.- I believe experience matters. The Court of Appeals is an error correcting court. Judges, lawyers, and parties involved are relying on appellate judges to have the experience necessary to make the proper call regarding decisions made in the lower courts. A crucial part of this is actual trial courtroom experience. I have over 21 years of trial experience. I have tried cases before judges and juries of varying subject matter and complexity. As someone who has handled over a thousand cases, I am prepared to review the transcript of a lower court proceeding with the knowledge of the courtroom procedure and process as well as the knowledge of the applicable standards of review and the appropriate case law to apply.
- I believe representation matters. Our judicial system works best when all parties are represented. We all come from backgrounds that are rich in cultural experience. Each of these backgrounds and experiences is valuable and necessary for the proper flow of justice. This Court of Appeals seat covers over 2.1 million voters across Oakland, Macomb, and Genesee counties. Each of us within this District should be able to look at our appellate court and feel represented. I not only have the legal experience needed by the next judge on our Court of Appeals, but I bring a perspective and background that is currently lacking in our District.
- I believe in preserving the integrity of our judicial system. I firmly believe that the courtroom is not the place for politics, personal opinions, or outside agendas. Every party that has a case within the court system should be able to expect that their case will be decided solely on the evidence, the law, and the constitution. I have dedicated my entire legal career to fighting to uphold the rights of individuals within our judicial system and if given the opportunity would fight equally as hard to protect and preserve the integrity our courts.
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.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
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