Cynthia Stephens
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Cynthia Stephens was a judge on the Michigan First District Court of Appeals. She was appointed to the court in 2008 by Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm.[1] On November 2, 2010, she was elected to full six-year term. She was re-elected on November 8, 2016.[2][3] Stephens retired on March 31, 2022.[4]
Additionally, in May 2015 Stephens was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to serve as a judge on the Michigan Court of Claims. This role is in addition to her appellate court duties. Her current term expired on May 1, 2021.[5][6][7]
Education
Stephens received her J.D. from Emory Law School.[1]
Career
Stephens was vice-chair of the Wayne County Charter Commission, associate general counsel to the Michigan Senate, regional director for the National Conference of Black Lawyers' Atlanta office, and a consultant to the National League of Cities Veterans Discharge Upgrade Project before her first judicial election. In 1981, she was elected to the 36th District Court, and in 1985, she was appointed to the Wayne County Circuit Court. She remained on the circuit court until 2008, when she was appointed to the Michigan Court of Appeals. Stephens has been an adjunct faculty member at Wayne State University Law School, the Detroit College of Law and the University of Detroit Mercy Law School.[1]
Awards and associations
- Susan B. Anthony Award, City of Detroit Human Rights Department
- 2005 Roberts P. Hudson Award, State Bar of Michigan
- Board of Commissioners, State Bar of Michigan
- Past chair, Association of Black Judges of Michigan[1]
Political affiliation
Since becoming a Michigan Court of Appeals judge, Stephens has donated money to the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee.[8]
Elections
2016
Stephens filed to run for re-election in 2016.[9] Two seats were up for election on the court; incumbent Judge Kurtis Wilder filed to run for re-election as well. Attorney Nicole James also ran for one of the two seats. The three faced each other on November 8.
Election results
November 8 general election
Incumbent Cynthia Stephens and incumbent Kurtis Wilder defeated Nicole James in the general election for the Michigan First District Court of Appeals, two seats.
| Michigan First District Court of Appeals, Two Seats, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Cynthia Stephens Incumbent |
44.40% | 475,106 | |
| Unknown | Kurtis Wilder Incumbent |
33.94% | 363,197 | |
| Unknown | Nicole James | 21.66% | 231,801 | |
| Total Votes (85 of 83 counties: 100%) | 1,070,104 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
2010
- Main article: Michigan judicial elections, 2010
Stephens ran unopposed and was re-elected to the Michigan First District Court of Appeals on November 2, 2010.[2][10]
Noteworthy cases
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Benson (2020)
On November 4, 2020, the Trump campaign and Eric Ostergren, an election challenger from Roscommon County, filed suit in the Michigan Court of Claims, alleging that Ostergren was excluded from viewing the absentee/mail-in ballot review process. In Michigan, election challengers differ from poll watchers. Political parties and certain interested groups appoint election challengers. Election challengers can question a ballot’s validity during counting. State law establishes that at least one election challenger from each major party must be present during absentee/mail-in ballot counting. The plaintiffs argued, “Benson’s actions and her failure to act have undermined the constitutional right of all Michigan voters … to participate in fair and lawful elections.”[11]
On November 5, 2020, Judge Cynthia Stephens dismissed the lawsuit from the bench. She issued a written opinion and order on November 6, 2020.[12][13]
On November 6, 2020, the campaign appealed Stephens' decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals; the campaign completed its filing on November 30, 2020. On December 4, 2020, a three-judge panel voted 2-1 to dismiss the appeal as moot, noting that certification of the statewide results had already taken place. Judges Stephen Borrello and Amy Krause formed the majority. Judge Patrick Meter dissented.[14][15]
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| Coronavirus pandemic |
| Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.
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Judge Cynthia Stephens extended the signature deadline from May 27, 2020, to June 3, 2020, for the campaign Fair and Equal Michigan to filed signatures for a ballot initiative related to LGBTQ nondiscrimination policies. Fair and Equal Michigan filed a legal complaint in the Michigan Court of Claims on May 26. Fair and Equal Michigan argued that the signature threshold should be decreased from 340,047 to 127,518 because the coronavirus pandemic and related orders had the effect of limiting the campaign's in-person signature drive to 45 days. In Michigan, campaigns have 180 days to collect signatures.[16]
Ruling that law banning physician-assisted death was unconstitutional
Judge Cynthia Stephens ruled that Michigan's law banning physician-assisted death was unconstitutional. On February 25, 1993, the Michigan Legislature passed a law on the topic after Dr. Jack Kevorkian provided assistance in three people's deaths. Judge Stephens "ruled that the Legislature improperly added the measure to a bill that dealt with a narrower issue in the assisted-suicide debate...This court cannot envisage a more fundamental right than the right of self determination."[17] She ruled the law was unconstitutional on both technical grounds, as well as a "right to die" principle.[17]
Michigan LGBTQ Nondiscrimination in State Civil Rights Law Initiative (2022)
- See also: Fair and Equal Michigan v. Benson
Fair and Equal Michigan, along with Sen. Adam Hollier (D-2) and Rep. Mari Manoogian (D-40), filed a legal complaint in the Michigan Court of Claims on May 26. Fair and Equal Michigan argued that executive (Stay-at-Home) orders related to the coronavirus pandemic prevented the campaign from collecting signatures. The campaign asked the court to (1) suspend the filing deadline for petitions, (2) relax the constitutional signature requirement, and (3) suspend the ban of using signatures that are more than 180 days old. Fair and Equal Michigan said that the orders had the effect of limiting the campaign's in-person signature drive to 45 days. In Michigan, campaigns have 180 days to collect signatures.[18]
On June 10, 2020, Judge Cynthia Stephens ruled that the requirement that signatures are valid for 180 days was suspended between March 23 and June 1, 2020—the period of the state's Stay-at-Home order. Therefore, signatures collected before March 23, 2020, would remain valid for an additional 69 days beginning on June 1. Judge Stephens wrote, "In ordinary times this challenge would fail because there is a legitimate if not compelling state interest in play. However, for 69 days the people of the state were ordered to ‘stay at home’ except for activity that was necessary to sustain or protect human life or health. Violation of this imperative was a misdemeanor." Judge Stephens did not grant the campaign's other requests, such as decreasing the number of signatures required or extending the filing deadline for initiatives to appear on the ballot in 2020 beyond May 27, 2020.[19]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Michigan Judge Cynthia Stephens. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
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Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Court of Appeals, "Judge Stephens biography"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Michigan 2010, "Unofficial General Election Results: Court of Appeals"
- ↑ Michigan Constitution, "Article VI, Section 23"
- ↑ Governor Gretchen Whitmer, "Governor Whitmer Makes Appointments to Michigan Court of Appeals," accessed April 8, 2022
- ↑ Michigan Courts, "Michigan Court of Claims," accessed May 5, 2015
- ↑ Michigan Courts, "Order: Assignment of Judges to the Court of Claims and Reappointment of Chief Judge," accessed April 29, 2017
- ↑ Michigan Supreme Court, "Assignment of Judges to the Court of Claims and Reappointment of Chief Judge," April 18, 2019
- ↑ CampaignMoney.com, "2010 Election, Michigan Court of Appeals," accessed April 7, 2015
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Candidate Listing," accessed March 24, 2016
- ↑ Michigan 2010, "Candidate list"
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Trump campaign files lawsuit to temporarily stop vote count in Michigan," November 4, 2020
- ↑ Patch, "Michigan Judge Denies Trump Campaign Lawsuit To Halt Ballot Count," November 5, 2020
- ↑ Michigan Court of Claims, "Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Benson: Opinion and Order," November 6, 2020
- ↑ Michigan Court of Appeals, "Michigan Court of Claims, "Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Benson: Motion for Immediate Consideration of Appeal," November 6, 2020
- ↑ Michigan Court of Appeals, "Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Benson: Order," December 4, 2020
- ↑ Michigan Court of Claims, "Fair and Equal Michigan v. Benson," May 26, 2020
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 NY Times, "Clarifying Decision, Judge Voids All of Suicide Law," December 15, 1993
- ↑ Michigan Court of Claims, "Fair and Equal Michigan v. Benson," May 26, 2020
- ↑ Michigan Court of Claims, "Fair and Equal Michigan v. Benson," June 10, 2020
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
