Michael James Davis (Minnesota)

From Ballotpedia
(Redirected from Michael James Davis)
Jump to: navigation, search

This page is about the federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. For other judges with a similar name, please see Michael Davis.

Michael James Davis
Image of Michael James Davis

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (senior status)
Tenure

2015 - Present

Years in position

9

Prior offices
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota

Education

Bachelor's

Macalester College, 1969

Law

University of Minnesota Law School, 1972

Personal
Birthplace
Cincinnati, Ohio

float:right;
border:1px solid #FFB81F;
background-color: white;
width: 250px;
font-size: .9em;
margin-bottom:0px;

} .infobox p { margin-bottom: 0; } .widget-row { display: inline-block; width: 100%; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; } .widget-row.heading { font-size: 1.2em; } .widget-row.value-only { text-align: center; background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.value-only.white { background-color: #f9f9f9; } .widget-row.value-only.black { background-color: #f9f9f9; color: black; } .widget-row.Democratic { background-color: #003388; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Republican { background-color: red; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Independent, .widget-row.Nonpartisan, .widget-row.Constitution { background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Libertarian { background-color: #f9d334; color: black; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Green { background-color: green; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-key { width: 43%; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; vertical-align: top; font-weight: bold; } .widget-value { width: 57%; float: right; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; word-wrap: break-word; } .widget-img { width: 150px; display: block; margin: auto; } .clearfix { clear: both; }


Michael James Davis is an federal judge on senior status for the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. He joined the Court in 1994 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. Davis served as the Chief Judge of the court from 2008 until he assumed senior status on August 1, 2015.[1][2]

Education

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Davis graduated from Macalester College with his bachelor's degree in 1969 and received a J.D. degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1972.[3]

Professional career

  • 1984-1994: Judge, Minnesota Fourth Judicial District
  • 1983-1984: Judge, Hennepin County Municipal Court
  • 1990-Present: Instructor, Minnesota Institute of Legal Education
  • 1982-Present: Adjunct professor, University of Minnesota Law School
  • 1978-1983:Attorney, Hennepin County Public Defender's Office
  • 1977-1981: Instructor, William and Mitchell School of Law
  • 1977-1981: Attorney and commissioner, Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission
  • 1974-1978: Attorney, Legal Rights Center
  • 1974: Criminal Defense Lawyer, Neighborhood Justice Center
  • 1973: Attorney, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
  • 1971-1973: Law clerk, Legal Rights Center[3]

Federal judicial career

District of Minnesota

On the recommendation of Senator Paul Wellstone, Davis was nominated to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota by President Bill Clinton on November 19, 1993, to a seat vacated by Harry MacLaughlin, as MacLaughlin went on senior status. Davis was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 25, 1994, on a Senate vote and received commission on March 28, 1994.[4]

Noteworthy cases

St. Croix River bridge case (2010)
See also: United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (SIERRA CLUB NORTH STAR CHAPTER v. RAYLaHOOD, Case No. 07-2593(MJD/SRN))

On March 12, 2010, Judge Davis ruled against the construction of a $669 million bridge across the St. Croix River in Stillwater, Minnesota. The suit was filed by the Sierra Club to protect the St. Croix River. In response to the judge's ruling, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota planned to file legislation in Congress to circumvent the decision.[5] In 2012, Congress passed legislation that bypassed Judge Davis' ruling, allowing ground to be broke for the project on May 28, 2013.[6]

Recording piracy lawsuit (2009-2010)
See also: United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset, No.06‐1497(MJD/RLE))

In 2008, Judge Davis overturned a 2007 jury verdict that found Jammie Thomas-Rasset guilty of illegal music distribution and ordered her to pay six record companies a total of $222,000.[7]

Judge Davis ordered a retrial that took place in June of 2009. In this trial, the jury also found Thomas-Rasset guilty and ordered her to pay a $1.92 million fine to the record companies, nine times the first ruling. On July 11, 2009, Ms. Thomas-Rasset filed an appeal to the District of Minnesota on the $1.92 million verdict calling the verdict "excessive". Attorneys for Ms. Thomas-Rasset urged Judge Davis to consider lowering the damages to $18,000, or $750 per song, which was the minimum available under the Copyright Act.[7] In making the request, Thomas-Rasset's lawyers noted that their client "was a single mother who, at worst, downloaded and shared some music on Kazaa, music for which she had already lawfully purchased the CD's, without any hint at all of a commercial motive."[7] In their motion, Thomas-Rasset's lawyers also asked Judge Davis to order a new trial.

In 2010, Judge Davis heard the case for the third time, at which time he lowered the amount to be paid out to $54,000.[8] After the payment was reduced, a third trial was held in November of 2010, where Thomas-Rasset was again ordered to pay $1.92 million dollars. In July of 2011, Judge Davis again, reduced the amount to be paid to $54,000.[9] In September of 2012, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the original fine of $222,000 was to be reinstated.[10] In 2013, a writ of certiorari was denied by the Supreme Court of the United States.[11]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Minnesota Lawyer, "Chief Judge Davis to assume senior status," December 30, 2014
  2. ↑ United States Courts, "Current Judicial Vacancies," accessed July 3, 2015
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Judge Michael Davis Biography at the Federal Judicial Center
  4. ↑ THOMAS, "Michael Davis USDC, MN confirmation: PN924-103," accessed August 3, 2015
  5. ↑ St. Paul Pioneer-Press "Reps. Bachmann, Kind split over response to St. Croix bridge ruling," March 19, 2010
  6. ↑ Bring Me the News, "Political leaders hail new St. Croix bridge at groundbreaking ceremony," May 28, 2013
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 PC World, "Music Piracy Verdict Appealed," July 11, 2009
  8. ↑ Scribd.com, "Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset," accessed August 15, 2013
  9. ↑ Archive.gov, "Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset," accessed August 15, 2013
  10. ↑ United States Courts, "Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset," accessed August 15, 2013
  11. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset," accessed August 15, 2013
Political offices
Preceded by:
Harry MacLaughlin 		District of Minnesota
1994–2015
Seat #2 		Succeeded by:
NA



Minnesota courts

Federal courts:

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Minnesota • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Minnesota

State courts:

Minnesota Supreme Court • Minnesota Court of Appeals • Minnesota District Courts • Minnesota Problem-Solving Courts • Minnesota Tax Court • Minnesota Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals

State resources:

Courts in Minnesota • Minnesota judicial elections • Judicial selection in Minnesota

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Michael_James_Davis_(Minnesota)&oldid=9800977"