Judges appointed by Rick Snyder

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Judicial Appointments

Governor Rick Snyder

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This page lists judges appointed by Rick Snyder (R) during his term as governor of Michigan. At the end of his term in January 2019, the total number of Snyder appointees was 102. For a more extensive profile, visit Snyder's page here.

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some Michigan judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. Snyder.

## Appointment process[edit]

In Michigan, the governor makes an appointment following a confidential report isssued by the committee on judicial qualifications of the State Bar of Michigan. The appointed judge must run for election to the seat in the next general election.[1]

## Appointed judges

The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state.

### State Courts

#### Supreme Court

Name | Court | Active

|
|

Elizabeth Clement

Michigan Supreme Court

2017 -

Brian Zahra

Michigan Supreme Court

2011 -

Kurtis Wilder

Michigan Supreme Court

2019-01-01

David Viviano

Michigan Supreme Court

2013 -

#### Court of Appeals

Name | Court | Active

|
|

Anica Letica

Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals

2018 -

Michael Riordan

Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals

2012 -

Thomas Cameron

Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals

2017 -

Colleen O'Brien

Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals

2015 -

Jonathan Tukel

Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals

2017 - 2021-09-17

Mark Boonstra

Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals

2012 -

James Robert Redford

Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals

2018 -

Brock Swartzle

Michigan 4th District Court of Appeals

2017 -

Michael Gadola

Michigan 4th District Court of Appeals

2015-01-05 -

### Local Courts

Name | Court | Active

|
|

John Keuvelaar

Bay County Probate Court

Brian Berger

Berrien County Probate Court

Arthur Cotter

Berrien County Trial Court

Jennifer Smith

Berrien County Trial Court

2018 -

Gordon Hosbein

Berrien County Trial Court

2018 -

Valerie Snyder

Charlevoix-Emmet County Probate Court

Gerald Scott Pierangeli

Kalamazoo County Probate Court

T.J. Ackert

Kent County Probate Court

Dan Hass

Menominee County Probate Court

Paul Beardslee

Michigan 10th District Court

James D. Norlander

Michigan 10th District Court

Daniel Goostrey

Michigan 12th District Court

Kevin Elsenheimer

Michigan 13th Circuit Court

Kathy Hoogstra

Michigan 14th Circuit Court

Karen Valvo

Michigan 15th District Court

Jennifer Faunce

Michigan 16th Circuit Court

Joseph Toia

Michigan 16th Circuit Court

James M. Biernat Jr.

Michigan 16th Circuit Court

George J. Quist

Michigan 17th Circuit Court

Krista Haroutunian

Michigan 17th District Court

2018 -

Sabrina Johnson

Michigan 22nd District Court

Robert Springstead

Michigan 27th Circuit Court

Alexis Krot

Michigan 31st District Court

Michael Pope

Michigan 32nd Circuit Court

Robert Bennett

Michigan 34th Circuit Court

Jeffrey Dufon

Michigan 36th Circuit Court

Kathleen M. Brickley

Michigan 36th Circuit Court

Aliyah Sabree

Michigan 36th District Court

Demetria Brue

Michigan 36th District Court

2012 -

Christopher M. Blount

Michigan 36th District Court

2022-04-17

Adrienne Hinnant-Johnson

Michigan 36th District Court

David Perkins

Michigan 36th District Court

2018

Larry Williams

Michigan 36th District Court

2016 -

Michael E. Wagner

Michigan 36th District Court

Shannon A. Holmes

Michigan 36th District Court

Brian Kirkham

Michigan 37th Circuit Court

John A. Hallacy

Michigan 37th Circuit Court

Michael Chupa

Michigan 37th District Court

Dean Ausilio

Michigan 37th District Court

Daniel S. White

Michigan 38th Circuit Court

Mark Braunlich

Michigan 38th Circuit Court

Anna Marie Anzalone

Michigan 39th Circuit Court

Prentis Edwards Jr.

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

Adel Harb

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

Qiana Lillard

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

Alexis Glendening

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

2014 -

Martha Snow

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

2015 -

Margaret Van Houten

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

Catherine Heise

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

Don Knapp

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

Carla Testani

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

2018 -

Charles S. Hegarty

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

Paul Cusick

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

Thomas Cameron

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

2014 - 2017

Edward Joseph

Michigan 3rd Circuit Court

Byron Konschuh

Michigan 40th Circuit Court

George Mertz

Michigan 46th Circuit Court

Cynthia Arvant

Michigan 46th District Court

Richard N. LaFlamme

Michigan 4th Circuit Court

T. David Law

Michigan 52nd District Court

Stacia Buchanan

Michigan 54A District Court

Michael Schipper

Michigan 56B District Court

John Maurer

Michigan 56th Circuit Court

Jeffrey Sauter

Michigan 56th Circuit Court

Amy McDowell

Michigan 5th Circuit Court

2011 - 2019-10-15

Raymond Kostrzewa

Michigan 60th District Court

Christina Elmore

Michigan 61st District Court

2018-12-31

Michael J. Distel

Michigan 61st District Court

Jennifer L. Faber

Michigan 61st District Court

David Guinn

Michigan 67th District Court

Hala Yalda Jarbou

Michigan 6th Circuit Court

2015 - 2020

Jeffery Matis

Michigan 6th Circuit Court

Manvel Trice III

Michigan 70th District Court

David Hoffman

Michigan 70th District Court

Michael Carpenter

Michigan 75th District Court

Eric R. Janes

Michigan 76th District Court

Celeste Bell

Michigan 7th Circuit Court

2018 -

Audrey Van Alst

Michigan 84th District Court

Ronald Schafer

Michigan 8th Circuit Court

Christopher Haenicke

Michigan 8th District Court

Kathleen Hemingway

Michigan 8th District Court

James N. Erhart

Michigan 90th District Court

2012-10-10 - 2019-11-04

Eric Blubaugh

Michigan 91st District Court

Karl Weber

Michigan 96th District Court

Paul J. Bridenstine

Michigan 9th Circuit Court

Cheryl Lohmeyer

Monroe County Probate Court

David J. Distefano

Van Buren County Probate Court

Julia B. Owdziej

Washtenaw County Probate Court

Lawrence Paolucci

Wayne County Probate Court

2015 -

Lisa Marie Neilson

Wayne County Probate Court

2012 -

Edward Van Alst

Wexford County Probate Court

## Judicial selection process[edit]

See also: Judicial selection in Michigan
Judicial selection in Michigan

* * *

Michigan Supreme Court
Method: |  Michigan method
Term: |  8 years
Michigan Court of Appeals
Method: |  Nonpartisan election of judges
Term: |  6 years
Michigan Circuit Courts
Method: |  Nonpartisan election of judges
Term: |  6 years
Michigan District Courts
Method: |  Nonpartisan election of judges
Term: |  6 years
Michigan Probate Courts
Method: |  Nonpartisan election of judges
Term: |  6 years

## Contents

* 1 Appointment process
* 2 Judicial selection process
* 3 Recent news
* 4 State profile
* 4.1 Presidential voting pattern
* 4.1.1 Pivot Counties (2016)
* 4.1.2 Pivot Counties (2020)
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
* 7 Footnotes

Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.

This article covers how state court judges are selected in Michigan, including:

* Michigan Supreme Court,
* Michigan Court of Appeals,
* Michigan Circuit Court, and
* Limited jurisdiction courts

Selection of state court judges in Michigan occurs primarily through nonpartisan elections, although supreme court judges are selected through the Michigan method.[2] All judges wishing to serve again must run for re-election at the end of their terms.[3]

Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.

Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method[4]

State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia[4]

Method  | Supreme Court (of 53)[5] | Courts of Appeal (of 46)  | Trial Courts (of 147)
Partisan elections (PE) | 8 | 6 | 39
Nonpartisan elections (NPE) | 13 | 16 | 34
Legislative elections (LE) | 2 | 2 | 5
Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA) | 5 | 3 | 6
Assisted appointment (AA) | 22 | 18 | 46
Combination or other | 3[6] | 1[7] | 17[8]

## Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Judicial appointments 'Rick Snyder'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Judges appointed by Rick Snyder - Google News

## State profile[edit]

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[edit]

See also: Presidential voting trends in Michigan

Michigan voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

#### 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.[9]

#### 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
* Influencers in Michigan
* Michigan fact checks
* More...

## See also[edit]

* Judges appointed by Gretchen Whitmer

Michigan | Judicial Selection | More Courts

|
|

Courts in Michigan Michigan Court of Appeals Michigan Supreme Court |  Elections: 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Michigan |  Federal courts State courts Local courts

## External links[edit]

* Office of the Governor

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Michigan," archived October 2, 2014
2. ↑ The Michigan-Ohio method involves candidates for a nonpartisan general election being selected using partisan processes.
3. ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Michigan," archived October 2, 2014
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
5. ↑ Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
6. ↑ Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.
7. ↑ Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.
8. ↑ Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.
9. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

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