John McDonald (Michigan)

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John McDonald

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Prior offices

Michigan 6th Circuit Court

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Education

Bachelor's

University of Detroit

Law

Detroit College of Law, 1970

John McDonald was a judge for the 6th Circuit Court in Michigan. He was appointed to the court by former Governor John Engler in 1993 and retired from the bench on November 29, 2010.

Education

McDonald received his undergraduate degree from the University of Detroit and his J.D. degree from the Detroit College of Law in 1970.

Career

Before his appointment to the 6th Circuit Court, McDonald worked as an attorney in private practice. He also previously served as an assistant prosecutor for Oakland County and as an Oakland County commissioner from 1974 to 1988.

Noteworthy events

High court overturns decision on firefighters layoffs (2008)

On July 23, 2008, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in favor of the city and against Pontiac Fire Fighters Union Local 376, scrapping the 2006 injunction against layoffs by Oakland County Circuit Court Judge John McDonald. The firefighters union pursued a labor grievance and went to court seeking an injunction against city officials’ plans to lay off 28 firefighters, due to budget constraints. The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the injunction but was also split in its decision. “We are not second-guessing the (local judge)’s discretion to substitute the outcome we prefer,” the supreme court majority opinion stated. “For reasons that are unclear, the circuit court in … granting the preliminary injunction seemed to credit only (the union)’s allegations and did not at all consider (Pontiac)’s contrary evidence.”