Michigan Court of Appeals
The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in Michigan. It is divided into four districts. The court was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, Article VI, Section 1, under which the State of Michigan has "one court of justice."[1][2][3]
Due to reduced filings, legislation was enacted in 2012 to gradually reduce the number of judges from 28 to 24 through attrition.[1] As of November 2024, 25 judges served on the Michigan Court of Appeals.[4]
Overview
| “ | The judicial power of the state is vested exclusively in one court of justice which shall be divided into one supreme court, one court of appeals, one trial court of general jurisdiction known as the circuit court, one probate court, and courts of limited jurisdiction that the legislature may establish by a two-thirds vote of the members elected to and serving in each house.[5] | ” |
| —The Constitution of Michigan of 1963, [6] | ||
In 1965, when the Court of Appeals first assembled, it had nine judges: Chief Judge T. John Lesinski, Chief Judge pro tempore John W. Fitzgerald, Judge Robert B. Burns, Judge John H. Gillis, Judge Donald E. Holbrook, Judge Thomas Giles Kavanagh, Judge Louis D. McGregor, Judge Timothy C. Quinn and Judge John D. Watts. The court had offices in three cities: Lansing, Detroit and Grand Rapids. The court opened another office in Southfield in 1994, which was moved to Troy in 2004.[2]
Court size changes
The Michigan State Legislature first increased the size of the Court of Appeals bench to 12 judges in 1969. In 1974, the number of judges increased to 18, and then to 24 in 1988. In 1993, the number of judges was set at 28. Annual case filings ranged from 1,235 in 1965 to a record 13,352 in 1992. By the latter half of the 1990s, the court's filings averaged more than 8,000 cases annually. During the first decade of the 2000s, filings decreased to an average of 6,200, sparking legislation in 2012 to cut the number of judgeships to 24 through attrition. As of November 2024, 25 judges served on the Michigan Court of Appeals.[1][2][4]
Proposal for cuts
In 2011, Republican Governor Rick Snyder recommended that the Michigan Court of Appeals reduce its number of judges due to budgetary concerns. Two court of appeals judgeships were rumored to be cut. Chief Judge William B. Murphy called on the court to be part of the "shared sacrifice," explaining, "The Court wants to be part of the solution, not part of the problem."[7]
- Published opinions of the Michigan Court of Appeals can be found here.
| Michigan Court of Appeals | |||
 | |||
| Court information | |||
| Judges: | 24 | ||
| Founded: | 1963 | ||
| Salary: | Associates: $195,625[8] | ||
| Judicial selection | |||
| Method: | Nonpartisan election of judges | ||
| Term: | 6 years | ||
Districts
The Court of Appeals is divided into four districts with the following offices:
- Michigan First District Court of Appeals - Detroit
- Michigan Second District Court of Appeals - Troy
- Michigan Third District Court of Appeals - Grand Rapids
- Michigan Fourth District Court of Appeals - Lansing
Judicial selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Michigan
The judges of the Michigan Court of Appeals are chosen in nonpartisan elections and must face re-election if they wish to remain on the court. Unlike the supreme court, candidates are placed on the ballot via nonpartisan primaries or by nominating petitions. Judges on the appeals court serve six-year terms.[9]
Qualifications
To be elected to the appeals court, a judge must:
- 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;
- be under the age of 70.[9]
Chief judge
The chief judge of the appeals court is selected by supreme court appointment for a term lasting two years.[9]
Vacancies
The process for filling vacancies on the appeals court is identical to that used by the supreme court. With the assistance of the judicial qualifications committee, the governor names a replacement to serve until the next general election.[9]
Salary
- See also: Michigan court salaries and budgets
In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $195,625, according to the National Center for State Courts.[10]
Elections
To see results from Michigan Court of Appeals elections, visit the individual district pages. For details about Michigan's judicial elections, click here.
- Michigan intermediate appellate court elections, 2026
- Michigan intermediate appellate court elections, 2024
- Michigan intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
- Michigan intermediate appellate court elections, 2020
- Michigan intermediate appellate court elections, 2018
Ethics
The Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Michigan. It consists of eight overarching canons:
| “ |
|
” |
The full text of the Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.
Removal of judges
Judges in Michigan may be removed in one of three ways:
- The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission may make a recommendation to the Michigan Supreme Court that a judge be suspended, retired, censured, or removed[12]
- A judge may be removed by the governor of Michigan with a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of the members of both the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate[13]
- The Michigan House of Representatives can impeach a judge by a majority vote, and the Michigan Senate can then convict a judge with a two-thirds vote.[14]
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.[15]
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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Michigan Courts, "About the Court," accessed October 12, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Michigan Courts, "Court of Appeals History," archived October 1, 2015
- ↑ Michigan Courts, "Current Judges," archived January 21, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Michigan Courts, "Court of Appeals," accessed November 6, 2024
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "Article VI § 1," 2009
- ↑ MLive.com, "West Michigan would lose State Appeals Court judge under Gov. Snyder's plan," April 14, 2011
- ↑ The salary of the chief judge may be higher than an associate judge.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed August 27, 2021
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "2025 Salaries and Rankings," accessed October 8, 2025
- ↑ Michigan Judicial Branch, "Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct," accessed August 18, 2025
- ↑ State of Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission, "What the Commission CAN Do," accessed July 17, 2023
- ↑ Justia US Law, "Michigan Constitution Article VI - JUDICIAL BRANCH § 25 Removal of judges from office," accessed July 17, 2023
- ↑ JUSTIA US Law, "Michigan Supreme Court Decisions," accessed August 18, 2025
- ↑ 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
