Michigan Second District Court of Appeals

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Judges of the Michigan Court of Appeals

The Michigan Second District Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court domiciled in Troy, Michigan. There are six seats for judges on the Second District Court of Appeals.

Overview

The Second District office handles cases arising from the counties of Genesee, Oakland and Macomb.

Published opinions of the Michigan Court of Appeals can be found here.

 

Michigan Court of Appeals
Court information
Judges:	25
Founded:	1963
Salary:	Associates: $186,310
Judicial selection
Method:	Nonpartisan election of judges
Term:	6 years

Judges

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Mark Cavanagh	1989 - Present	Elected
Sima Patel	March 1, 2022 - Present	Gretchen Whitmer
Adrienne Young	February 20, 2024 - Present	Gretchen Whitmer
Colleen O'Brien	2015 - Present	Rick Snyder
Matthew Ackerman	January 1, 2025 - Present
Randy Wallace	August 12, 2024 - Present	Gretchen Whitmer

Former judges

• Pat Donofrio
• E. Thomas Fitzgerald
• Elizabeth Gleicher
• Karen Fort Hood
• Deborah Servitto
• Jonathan Tukel

Judicial selection

See also: Nonpartisan election of judges and Judicial selection in Michigan

The 25 judges of the Michigan Court of Appeals serve six-year terms. Like the Michigan Supreme Court justices, they are chosen in nonpartisan elections and must face re-election if they wish to continue serving. Unlike candidates for the Supreme Court, however, candidates for the Court of Appeals are placed on the general election ballot through nonpartisan primaries or by nominating petitions.

Selection of the chief judge

The Michigan Supreme Court appoints the chief judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals to serve a two-year term.

Vacancies

The process for filling vacancies on the Michigan Court of Appeals is identical to that used by the Michigan Supreme Court. With the assistance of the judicial qualifications committee, the governor names a replacement to serve until the next general election.

Qualifications

To serve on the Michigan Court of Appeals, a judge must:

• be a qualified elector of his or her district;
• be licensed to practice law in the state;
• have at least five years of law practice experience;
• be under the age of 70.

Sitting judges who reach age 70 are allowed to serve the remainder of their term.

Salary

In 2024, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $186,310, according to the National Center for State Courts.

Elections

2024

See also: Michigan intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

The terms of nine Michigan intermediate appellate court judges expired on January 1, 2025. The nine seats were up for nonpartisan election on November 5, 2024. A primary election scheduled for August 6, 2024, was unnecessary as there were not enough candidates who filed. The deadline for incumbents to file affidavits of candidacy was March 25, 2024. The filing deadline for non-incumbents was April 23, 2024.

General election

General election for Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals (2 seats)

Incumbent Kirsten Frank Kelly and incumbent Michael Riordan won election in the general election for Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kirsten Frank Kelly (Nonpartisan)	58.0	625,407
✔		Michael Riordan (Nonpartisan)	42.0	452,696

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 1,078,103
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Kirsten Frank Kelly and incumbent Michael Riordan advanced from the primary for Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals.

General election

General election for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals (2 seats)

Incumbent Adrienne Young and incumbent Randy Wallace won election in the general election for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Adrienne Young (Nonpartisan)	51.7	702,897
✔	Submit photo	Randy Wallace (Nonpartisan)	48.3	655,496

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 1,358,393
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Randy Wallace and incumbent Adrienne Young advanced from the primary for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals.

General election

General election for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals

Matthew Ackerman defeated Latoya Willis in the general election for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matthew Ackerman (Nonpartisan)	59.6	207,274
		Latoya Willis (Nonpartisan)	40.4	140,310

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	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 347,584
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Matthew Ackerman and Latoya Willis advanced from the primary for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Lisa Marie Neilson (Nonpartisan)

General election

General election for Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals (2 seats)

Incumbent Christopher P. Yates and incumbent Philip Mariani won election in the general election for Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christopher P. Yates (Nonpartisan)	52.2	722,287
✔	Submit photo	Philip Mariani (Nonpartisan)	47.8	660,828

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 1,383,115
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Philip Mariani and incumbent Christopher P. Yates advanced from the primary for Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals.

General election

General election for Michigan 4th District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Stephen L. Borrello won election in the general election for Michigan 4th District Court of Appeals on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Stephen L. Borrello (Nonpartisan)	100.0	813,490

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 813,490
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Stephen L. Borrello advanced from the primary for Michigan 4th District Court of Appeals.

General election

Special general election for Michigan 4th District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Allie Greenleaf Maldonado won election in the special general election for Michigan 4th District Court of Appeals on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Allie Greenleaf Maldonado (Nonpartisan)	100.0	803,139

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 803,139
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Allie Greenleaf Maldonado advanced from the special primary for Michigan 4th District Court of Appeals.

2022

See also: Michigan intermediate appellate court elections, 2022

The terms of seven Michigan intermediate appellate court judges expired on January 1, 2023. Two special elections were also called for partial terms ending on January 1, 2027. The nine seats were up for nonpartisan election on November 8, 2022. The filing deadline for non-incumbents was April 19, 2022. The deadline for incumbents to file affidavits of candidacy was March 21, 2022.

Candidates and results

First District Court of Appeals

General election

General election for Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals (2 seats)

Incumbent Kristina Robinson Garrett and incumbent Thomas Cameron won election in the general election for Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kristina Robinson Garrett (Nonpartisan)	51.8	465,881
✔	Submit photo	Thomas Cameron (Nonpartisan)	48.2	432,894

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 898,775
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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General election

Special general election for Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Noah Hood won election in the special general election for Michigan 1st District Court of Appeals on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Noah Hood (Nonpartisan)	100.0	522,016

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 522,016
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Second District Court of Appeals

General election

General election for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Colleen O'Brien won election in the general election for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Colleen O'Brien (Nonpartisan)	100.0	654,634

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 654,634
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

Special general election for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Sima Patel defeated Michael D. Warren Jr. in the special general election for Michigan 2nd District Court of Appeals on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sima Patel (Nonpartisan)	56.7	467,524
		Michael D. Warren Jr. (Nonpartisan)	43.3	356,424

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 823,948
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Third District Court of Appeals

General election

General election for Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals

Incumbent James Robert Redford won election in the general election for Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Robert Redford (Nonpartisan)	100.0	686,786

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 686,786
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

Special general election for Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals

Incumbent Christopher P. Yates won election in the special general election for Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christopher P. Yates (Nonpartisan)	100.0	686,680

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 686,680
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals

Kathleen Feeney defeated Raymond P. Voet in the general election for Michigan 3rd District Court of Appeals on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kathleen Feeney (Nonpartisan)	61.9	489,462
	Submit photo	Raymond P. Voet (Nonpartisan)	38.1	301,504

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 790,966
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kerene Moore (Nonpartisan)

Fourth District Court of Appeals

General election

General election for Michigan 4th District Court of Appeals (2 seats)

Incumbent Michael Gadola and incumbent Brock Swartzle won election in the general election for Michigan 4th District Court of Appeals on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Michael Gadola (Nonpartisan)	51.9	609,657
✔		Brock Swartzle (Nonpartisan)	48.1	565,831

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,175,488
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Judges not on the ballot

• David Sawyer

Vacancies

First District Court of Appeals
Judge Karen Fort Hood created a vacancy when she passed away on August 15, 2021. Noah Hood was appointed to replace Hood until the November 2022 election.

Second District Court of Appeals
Judge Jonathan Tukel created a vacancy when he passed away on September 17, 2021. Sima Patel was appointed to replace Tukel until the November 2022 election.

2020

Main article: Michigan intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

Judges with expiring terms

This is a list of the justices who had to stand for nonpartisan election in 2020 in order to remain on the bench. Justices could choose not to stand for election.

■ Mark Cavanagh
■ Jonathan Tukel

2016

Main article: Michigan judicial elections, 2016

Candidates

Judge O'Brien's seat

■ Colleen O'Brien (R) (Incumbent/Unopposed)

Election results

November 8 general election

Incumbent Colleen O'Brien ran unopposed in the general election for the Michigan Second District Court of Appeals, O'Brien's seat.

Michigan Second District Court of Appeals, O'Brien's Seat, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Colleen O'Brien Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	747,475
Total Votes (86 of 83 counties: 100%)				747,475
Source: Michigan Secretary of State Official Results

2014

Second District, candidates competed for 2 open seats

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
SaadHenry SaadA	Yes		A
CavanaghMark CavanaghA	Yes		A

2012

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
ServittoDeborah Servitto   A	Yes		100%   A
GleicherElizabeth Gleicher   A	Yes		100%   A
JansenKathleen Jansen   A	Yes		100%   A

Ethics

The Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Michigan. It consists of eight overarching canons:

“

Canon 1: A Judge Should Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary Canon 2: A Judge Should Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in All Activities Canon 3: A Judge Should Perform the Duties of Office Impartially and Diligently Canon 4: A Judge May Engage in Extrajudicial Activities Canon 5: Applicability of the Code of Judicial Conduct to Judicial Candidates Canon 6: A Judge Should Regularly File Reports of Compensation Received for Quasi-Judicial and Extra-Judicial Activities And of Monetary Contributions Canon 7: A Judge or a Candidate for Judicial Office Should Refrain From Political Activity Inappropriate to Judicial Office Canon 8: Collective Activity By Judges

”

The full text of the Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

Removal of judges

Judges in Michigan may be removed in one of three ways:

• The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission may make a recommendation to the Michigan Supreme Court that a judge be suspended, retired, censured, or removed
• A judge may be removed by the governor of Michigan with a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of the members of both the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate
• The Michigan House of Representatives can impeach a judge by a majority vote and the Michigan Senate can then convict a judge with a two-thirds vote.

History

The Michigan Court of Appeals was created by the Constitution of 1963, Article VI, Section 1, under which the State of Michigan has "one court of justice." According to the Michigan Court of Appeals website, "The judicial power of the state is vested exclusively in one court of justice which shall be divided into one supreme court, one court of appeals, one trial court of general jurisdiction known as the circuit court, one probate court, and courts of limited jurisdiction that the legislature may establish by a two-thirds vote of the members elected to and serving in each house." In 1965, when the Court of Appeals first assembled, it had nine judges: Chief Judge T. John Lesinski, Chief Judge pro tempore John W. Fitzgerald, Judge Robert B. Burns, Judge John H. Gillis, Judge Donald E. Holbrook, Judge Thomas Giles Kavanagh, Judge Louis D. McGregor, Judge Timothy C. Quinn and Judge John D. Watts. The court had offices in three cities: Lansing, Detroit and Grand Rapids. The court opened another office in Southfield in 1994, which was moved to Troy in 2004.

Office address

Columbia Center, 201 West Big Beaver Road, Suite 800, Troy, MI 48084-4127

State profile

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

See also: Presidential voting trends in Michigan

Michigan voted for the Democratic candidate in four out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

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.

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
• Endorsers in Michigan
• Michigan fact checks
• More...

See also

Michigan	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Michigan Michigan Court of Appeals Michigan Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Michigan	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Michigan Courts, "Michigan Court of Appeals"

Footnotes

Michigan courts

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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