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Robert Cleland
2013 - Present
12
Robert Cleland is an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He joined the court in 1990 after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush and took senior status in March 2013.[1]
Early life and education
Born in St. Clair, Michigan, Cleland graduated from Michigan State University with his bachelor's degree in 1969, and graduated from the University of North Carolina Law School in 1972 with his J.D. degree.[2]
Professional career
Cleland entered private practice in Port Huron, Michigan from 1972 to 1975. Cleland was the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for St. Clair County, Michigan Attorney's Office from 1975 to 1977, and the Chief Assistant Deputy Attorney from 1977 to 1980. Cleland was reassigned to Assistant Prosecutor again from 1981 until his appointment to the federal bench in 1990.[2]
Judicial career
Eastern District of Michigan
Cleland was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by President George H.W. Bush on February 20, 1990 to a seat vacated by James Churchill. Cleland was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 18, 1990 and received commission on June 19, 1990. Cleland took senior status on March 1, 2013.[1][2]
Noteworthy cases
Reporter's privilege case (2010)
Judge Cleland ruled on February 9, 2010 that Detroit Free-Press reporter David Ashenfelter did not have to reveal sources of information he got when reporting that a federal prosecutor was under investigation for his handling of a terrorism trial.[3]
Former Eastern District of Michigan U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino sued the Justice Department in order to force Ashenfelter to reveal the sources of information used in the story as Covertino felt the information was illegally leaked.[3]
The judge dismissed the motion for reconsideration, adding that the plaintiff engaged in poor strategic planning.[3]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 United States Courts, Current Judicial Vacancies retrieved on July 25, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Judge Robert Cleland's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Detroit Free-Press, "Judge upholds protection of reporter's sources," February 9, 2010
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: James Churchill |
Eastern District of Michigan 1990–2014 Seat #1 |
Succeeded by: Linda V. Parker
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|---|---|---|---|
| Active judges |
• Thomas Ludington • Mark Goldsmith • Stephen Murphy (Michigan) • Shalina Kumar • Linda V. Parker • Laurie Michelson • Terrence Berg • Judith Ellen Levy • Matthew Frederick Leitman • Jonathan Grey • Frances Kay Behm • Susan DeClercq • Brandy McMillion • Robert White (Michigan) | ||
| Senior judges |
Bernard Friedman • Paul Borman • Robert Cleland • Nancy Edmunds • Denise Hood • David M. Lawson • John O'Meara (Michigan) • George Steeh • Gershwin Drain • | ||
| Magistrate judges | David Grand • Patricia T. Morris • Anthony Patti • Elizabeth Stafford • Kimberly Altman • Curtis Ivy Jr. • | ||
| Former Article III judges |
Damon Keith • Victoria Roberts • Marianne Battani • Anna Taylor • Avern Cohn • Sean Cox (Michigan) • Patrick Duggan • John Feikens • Paul Gadola • Arthur Tarnow • Lawrence Zatkoff • Cornelia Kennedy • Ralph Guy • Richard Suhrheinrich • Horace Gilmore • Stewart Newblatt • Ross Wilkins • Barbara Hackett • Russell Harvey (Michigan) • George La Plata • Henry Billings Brown (U.S. Supreme Court) • John Wesley Longyear • Henry Harrison Swan • Alexis Caswell Angell • Arthur Tuttle • Charles Casper Simons • Edward Julien Moinet • Ernest Aloysius O'Brien • Arthur Lederle • Frank Picard • Wade Hampton McCree, Jr. • James Churchill • Mona Majzoub • Patricia Boyle • Robert DeMascio • Ralph Freeman • Lawrence Gubow • Frederick Kaess • Arthur Koscinski • Theodore Levin (Michigan) • Thaddeus Machrowicz • Clifford O'Sullivan • Philip Pratt (Michigan) • Stephen Roth (Michigan) • Talbot Smith • Thomas Thornton • George Woods (federal judge) • Stephanie Dawkins Davis • | ||
| Former Chief judges |
Damon Keith • Bernard Friedman • Anna Taylor • Julian Cook • Sean Cox (Michigan) • John Feikens • Lawrence Zatkoff • Cornelia Kennedy • Arthur Lederle • Frank Picard • James Churchill • Ralph Freeman • Frederick Kaess • Theodore Levin (Michigan) • Philip Pratt (Michigan) • | ||
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State of Michigan Lansing (capital) |
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