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Sean Cox (Michigan)
Sean Francis Cox was a federal judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He joined the court in 2006 after a nomination by President George W. Bush (R). He served as chief judge from 2022 until his retirement in 2025. Cox retired on July 27, 2025.[1]
Biography
Cox was born in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor with his bachelor's degree in 1979 and graduated from Detroit Mercy Law School in 1983 with his J.D. degree.[1]
Professional career
Cox was a private practice attorney in Michigan from 1983 to 1996 before serving as Circuit Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan from 1996 to 2006.[1]
Cox is a former President of the Livonia Bar Association and served on the State Bar of Michigan Judicial Qualifications Committee from 1992 to 1996. Cox also served as Chair of Disciplinary panels for the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission and wrote opinions on disciplinary matters involving lawyers.[2]
Judicial career
Eastern District of Michigan
Cox was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by President George W. Bush on February 14, 2005 to a seat vacated by Lawrence Zatkoff. Cox was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 8, 2006 on a senate vote and received commission on June 12, 2006.[3] Cox retired on July 27, 2025.[1]
Noteworthy cases
MI police wrongfully imprison Canadians (2009)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Timothy Daniel McGuire and James Lee Joseph Ryan, v. City of Royal Oak, et al., 2:05-cv-40185-SFC-SDP)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Timothy Daniel McGuire and James Lee Joseph Ryan, v. City of Royal Oak, et al., 2:05-cv-40185-SFC-SDP)
Judge Cox presided in the case of two Windsor, Ontario area men who sued two off-duty Royal Oak Police Officers after being assaulted after a fight during a 2003 concert. In August of 2008, the City of Royal Oak settled with the two Windsor-Area men, however, a Detroit News report leaked the confidential settlement amount. On September 17, 2009, the judge threw out a motion by the City of Royal Oak to disqualify the settlement as there was not evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to prove a violation.[4]
See also
External links
- Sean Cox's website
- The Robing Room- Rate Judge Cox
- Judge Sean Cox's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Judge Sean Cox's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center.
- ↑ Judge Sean Cox EDMI Court Bio
- ↑ [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ntquery/D?nomis:1:./temp/ nomis1zQHIT:: The Library of Congress, Sean Cox USDC, EDMI confirmation: PN207-109]
- ↑ Detroit News, "Federal judge refuses to toss out Royal Oak's confidential settlement," September 17, 2009
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lawrence Zatkoff |
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan 2006-2025 |
Succeeded by - |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) • | ||
 |
State of Michigan Lansing (capital) |
|---|---|
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