Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan

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The Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan is the largest circuit court in the state, with 61 judges and three operating divisions as of 2023. The Third Circuit Court has jurisdiction over civil, criminal, and family matters arising in Wayne County. The National Center for State Courts has cited the Third Circuit Court as one of the model urban courts in the United States for case flow management and the timely disposition of the Court's docket.

Organization[edit]

The Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan has 3 divisions, with the Family Division having three subsections.

  • Civil Division
  • Criminal Division
  • Family Division
    • Domestic Section
    • Friend of the Court
    • Juvenile section

Civil[edit]

Civil maters are claims that involve more than $25,000.00 it also handles appeals from civil matters appealed from Wayne County district courts and administrative agencies.

Judge Tenure Term End Age Years in office
Patricia P. Fresard 1999 2029 24
Leslie Kim Smith 2018 2025
David J. Allen 2003 2027 19
Annette J. Berry 2018 2025
Charlene M. Elder 2006 2027
Edward Ewell, Jr. 2018 2025
Sheila Ann Gibson 1999 2029 24
John H. Gillis, Jr. 1997 2027
Adel A. Harb 2015 2025
Dana M. Hathaway 2013 2025
Charles S. Hegarty 2013
Catherine L. Heise
Susan L. Hubbard 2011 2029 12
Muriel D. Hughes 2006 2029
Edward J. Joseph 2014 2027
Qiana Denise Lillard 2013
Kathleen M. McCarthy
Martha M. Snow 2015 2029 8
Brian R. Sullivan 1999 2029

Criminal[edit]

Judge Term Start Term End Age
Donald L. Knapp
Charise Anderson
Chandra W. Baker-Robinson
Mariam Bazzi
Gregory Dean Bill
Christopher Blount
Bradley L. Cobb
Kevin J. Cox
Kiefer Cox
Paul J. Cusick
Prentis Edwards, Jr.
Wanda A. Evans
John C Gillis
Tracy E. Green
Bridget Mary Hathaway
Nicholas J. Hathaway
Anne M. McCarthy
Kelly A. Ramsey
Mark T. Slavens
Deborah A. Thomas
Regina D. Thomas
Margaret M. Van Houten
Shannon N. Walker
Darnella D. Williams-Claybourne


Chief Judges[1][edit]

Chief Judges Term
Joseph A. Sullivan January 1967 - January 1975
James N. Canham January 1975 - December 1977
Richard Dunn January 1978 - December 1985
Joseph B. Sullivan January 1986 - March 1986
W. Leo Cahalan March 1986 - March 1986
Richard Kaufman March 1986 - December 1993
James Rashid January 1994 - September 1997
Michael Sapala October 1997 - December 2001
Timothy Kenny (Co-Chief Judge) January 2002 - December 2003
Mary Beth Kelly January 2002 - December 2007
William Giovan January 2008 - December 2008
Virgil C. Smith January 2009 - December 2013
Robert J. Colombo January 2014 - Present

References[edit]

  1. ^ Third Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan 2016 Annual Report (PDF). 2017. p. 43.

External links[edit]