United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (in case citations, E.D. Mich.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over the eastern half of the Lower Peninsula of the State of Michigan. The Court is based in Detroit, with courthouses also located in Ann Arbor, Bay City, Flint, and Port Huron. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has appellate jurisdiction over the court (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
(E.D. Mich.)
Location	Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse (Detroit) More locations Ann Arbor Bay City Flint Federal Building (Port Huron)
Appeals to	Sixth Circuit
Established	February 24, 1863
Judges	15
Chief Judge	Sean Cox
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	(acting)
U.S. Marshal	Owen M. Cypher
www.mied.uscourts.gov

Theodore Levin United States Courthouse in Detroit, taken January 2010.

Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Port Huron, taken August 2003.

As of February 22, 2025^[update], the acting United States attorney is .

History

The United States District Court for the District of Michigan was established on July 1, 1836, by 5 Stat. 61, with a single judgeship. The district court was not assigned to a judicial circuit, but was granted the same jurisdiction as United States circuit courts, except in appeals and writs of error, which were the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Due to the so-called "Toledo War", a boundary dispute with Ohio, Michigan did not become a state of the Union until January 26, 1837. On March 3, 1837, Congress passed an act that repealed the circuit court jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the District of Michigan, assigned the District of Michigan to the Seventh Circuit, and established a U.S. circuit court for the district, 5 Stat. 176.

On July 15, 1862, Congress reorganized the circuits and assigned Michigan to the Eighth Circuit by 12 Stat. 576, and on January 28, 1863, the Congress again reorganized Seventh and Eight Circuits and assigned Michigan to the Seventh Circuit, by 12 Stat. 637. On February 24, 1863, Congress divided the District of Michigan into the Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized for each district, by 12 Stat. 660. Ross Wilkins, who had been the only district judge to serve the District of Michigan, was reassigned to the Eastern District. Finally, on July 23, 1866, by 14 Stat. 209, Congress assigned the two Districts in Michigan to the Sixth Circuit, where they remain.

Divisions

The Eastern District comprises two divisions.

Northern Division

The Northern Division comprises the counties of Alcona, Alpena, Arenac, Bay, Cheboygan, Clare, Crawford, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Iosco, Isabella, Midland, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Saginaw, and Tuscola.

Court for the Northern Division is held in Bay City.

Southern Division

The Southern Division comprises the counties of Genesee, Jackson, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Saint Clair, Sanilac, Shiawassee, Washtenaw, and Wayne.

Court for the Southern Division is held in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint, and Port Huron.

Notable cases

Some of the notable cases that have come before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan include:

• American Civil Liberties Union v. National Security Agency
• Berghuis v. Thompkins
• Conyers v. Bush
• Dean v. Utica Community Schools
• DeBoer v. Snyder
• Hess v. Reynolds
• Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc.
• R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• United States v. Abdulmutallab
• United States v. Anthony Chebatoris
• United States v. Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co.
• United States v. Fieger
• United States v. Hathaway
• United States v. Kilpatrick
• United States v. Riverside Bayview
• United States v. Stone
• United States v. United States District Court

Current judges

As of October 5, 2024^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
57	Chief Judge	Sean Cox	Detroit	1957	2006–present	2022–present	—	G.W. Bush
58	District Judge	Thomas Lamson Ludington	Bay City	1953	2006–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
59	District Judge	Stephen Murphy III	Detroit	1962	2008–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
60	District Judge	Mark A. Goldsmith	Detroit	1952	2010–present	—	—	Obama
62	District Judge	Terrence Berg	Detroit	1959	2012–present	—	—	Obama
63	District Judge	Matthew F. Leitman	Detroit	1968	2014–present	—	—	Obama
64	District Judge	Judith E. Levy	Ann Arbor	1958	2014–present	—	—	Obama
65	District Judge	Laurie J. Michelson	Detroit	1967	2014–present	—	—	Obama
66	District Judge	Linda Vivienne Parker	Detroit	1958	2014–present	—	—	Obama
68	District Judge	Shalina D. Kumar	Flint	1971	2021–present	—	—	Biden
69	District Judge	F. Kay Behm	Flint	1969	2022–present	—	—	Biden
70	District Judge	Jonathan J. C. Grey	Detroit	1982	2023–present	—	—	Biden
71	District Judge	Susan K. DeClercq	Detroit	1974	2023–present	—	—	Biden
72	District Judge	Brandy R. McMillion	Detroit	1979	2023–present	—	—	Biden
73	District Judge	Robert J. White	Detroit	1985	2024–present	—	—	Biden
44	Senior Judge	Bernard A. Friedman	Detroit	1943	1988–2009	2004–2009	2009–present	Reagan
47	Senior Judge	Robert Hardy Cleland	Port Huron	1947	1990–2013	—	2013–present	G.H.W. Bush
48	Senior Judge	Nancy Garlock Edmunds	Detroit	1947	1992–2012	—	2012–present	G.H.W. Bush
49	Senior Judge	Denise Page Hood	Detroit	1952	1994–2022	2015–2022	2022–present	Clinton
50	Senior Judge	Paul D. Borman	Detroit	1939	1994–2023	—	2023–present	Clinton
52	Senior Judge	George Caram Steeh III	Detroit	1947	1998–2013	—	2013–present	Clinton
56	Senior Judge	David M. Lawson	Detroit	1951	2000–2021	—	2021–present	Clinton
61	Senior Judge	Gershwin A. Drain	Detroit	1949	2012–2022	—	2022–present	Obama

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat	Prior judge's duty station	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
14	Detroit	Sean Cox	Retirement	July 28, 2025	–	–

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Ross Wilkins	MI	1799–1872	1863–1870	—	—	Jackson/Operation of law	retirement
2	John W. Longyear	MI	1820–1875	1870–1875	—	—	Grant	death
3	Henry Billings Brown	MI	1836–1913	1875–1890	—	—	Grant	elevation to Supreme Court
4	Henry Harrison Swan	MI	1840–1916	1891–1911	—	—	B. Harrison	retirement
5	Alexis C. Angell	MI	1857–1932	1911–1912	—	—	Taft	resignation
6	Arthur J. Tuttle	MI	1868–1944	1912–1944	—	—	Taft	death
7	Charles C. Simons	MI	1876–1964	1923–1932	—	—	Harding	elevation to 6th Cir.
8	Edward Julien Moinet	MI	1873–1952	1927–1946	—	1946–1952	Coolidge	death
9	Ernest Aloysius O'Brien	MI	1880–1948	1931–1948	—	—	Hoover	death
10	Arthur F. Lederle	MI	1887–1972	1936–1960	1948–1959	1960–1972	F. Roosevelt	death
11	Frank Albert Picard	MI	1889–1963	1939–1959	1959	1959–1963	F. Roosevelt	death
12	Arthur A. Koscinski	MI	1887–1957	1945–1957	—	1957	Truman	death
13	Theodore Levin	MI	1897–1970	1946–1970	1959–1967	—	Truman	death
14	Thomas Patrick Thornton	MI	1898–1985	1949–1966	—	1966–1985	Truman	death
15	Ralph M. Freeman	MI	1902–1990	1954–1973	1967–1972	1973–1990	Eisenhower	death
16	Clifford Patrick O'Sullivan	MI	1897–1975	1957–1960	—	—	Eisenhower	elevation to 6th Cir.
17	Frederick William Kaess	MI	1910–1979	1960–1975	1972–1975	1975–1979	Eisenhower	death
18	John Feikens	MI	1917–2011	1960–1961	—	—	Eisenhower	not confirmed
18.1	John Feikens	MI	1917–2011	1970–1986	1979–1986	1986–2011	Nixon	death
19	Thaddeus M. Machrowicz	MI	1899–1970	1961–1970	—	—	Kennedy	death
20	Wade H. McCree	MI	1920–1987	1961–1966	—	—	Kennedy	elevation to 6th Cir.
21	Talbot Smith	MI	1899–1978	1961–1971	—	1971–1978	Kennedy	death
22	Stephen John Roth	MI	1908–1974	1962–1974	—	—	Kennedy	death
23	Damon Keith	MI	1922–2019	1967–1977	1975–1977	—	L. Johnson	elevation to 6th Cir.
24	Lawrence Gubow	MI	1919–1978	1968–1978	—	—	L. Johnson	death
25	Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy	MI	1923–2014	1970–1979	1977–1979	—	Nixon	elevation to 6th Cir.
26	Philip Pratt	MI	1924–1989	1970–1989	1986–1989	—	Nixon	death
27	Robert Edward DeMascio	MI	1923–1999	1971–1988	—	1988–1999	Nixon	death
28	Charles Wycliffe Joiner	MI	1916–2017	1972–1984	—	1984–2017	Nixon	death
29	R. James Harvey	MI	1922–2019	1973–1984	—	1984–2019	Nixon	death
30	James Paul Churchill	MI	1924–2020	1974–1989	1989	1989–2020	Ford	death
31	Ralph B. Guy Jr.	MI	1929–present	1976–1985	—	—	Ford	elevation to 6th Cir.
32	Patricia Boyle	MI	1937–2014	1978–1983	—	—	Carter	resignation
33	Julian A. Cook	MI	1930–2017	1978–1996	1989–1996	1996–2017	Carter	death
34	Avern Cohn	MI	1924–2022	1979–1999	—	1999–2022	Carter	death
35	Stewart Albert Newblatt	MI	1927–2022	1979–1993	—	1993–2022	Carter	death
36	Anna Diggs Taylor	MI	1932–2017	1979–1998	1996–1998	1998–2017	Carter	death
37	Horace Weldon Gilmore	MI	1918–2010	1980–1991	—	1991–2010	Carter	death
38	George E. Woods	MI	1923–2007	1983–1993	—	1993–2004	Reagan	retirement
39	Richard Fred Suhrheinrich	MI	1936–present	1984–1990	—	—	Reagan	elevation to 6th Cir.
40	George La Plata	MI	1924–2010	1985–1996	—	—	Reagan	retirement
41	Lawrence Paul Zatkoff	MI	1939–2015	1986–2004	1999–2004	2004–2015	Reagan	death
42	Barbara Kloka Hackett	MI	1928–2018	1986–1997	—	1997–2000	Reagan	retirement
43	Patrick J. Duggan	MI	1933–2020	1986–2000	—	2000–2020	Reagan	death
45	Paul V. Gadola	MI	1929–2014	1988–2001	—	2001–2014	Reagan	death
46	Gerald Ellis Rosen	MI	1951–present	1990–2016	2009–2015	2016–2017	G.H.W. Bush	retirement
51	John Corbett O'Meara	MI	1933–2024	1994–2007	—	2007–2024	Clinton	death
53	Arthur Tarnow	MI	1942–2022	1998–2010	—	2010–2022	Clinton	death
54	Victoria A. Roberts	MI	1951–present	1998–2021	—	2021–2023	Clinton	retirement
55	Marianne Battani	MI	1944–2021	2000–2012	—	2012–2021	Clinton	death
67	Stephanie D. Davis	MI	1967–present	2019–2022	—	—	Trump	elevation to 6th Cir.

1. Reassigned from the District of Michigan.
2. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1927, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 19, 1927, and received commission the same day.
3. Recess appointment; the Senate later rejected the appointment.
4. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1962, confirmed by the Senate on February 5, 1962, and received commission on February 9, 1962.

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat reassigned from District of Michigan on February 24, 1863 by 12 Stat. 660 Wilkins 1863–1870 Longyear 1870–1875 Brown 1875–1890 Swan 1891–1911 Angell 1911–1912 Tuttle 1912–1944 Koscinski 1945–1957 O'Sullivan 1957–1960 Feikens 1960–1961 Roth 1962–1974 Churchill 1974–1989 Cleland 1990–2013 Parker 2014–present

Seat 2 Seat established on September 14, 1922 by 42 Stat. 837 (temporary) Simons 1923–1932 Seat made permanent on August 19, 1935 by 49 Stat. 659 Lederle 1936–1960 Kaess 1960–1975 Guy, Jr. 1976–1985 Zatkoff 1986–2004 Cox 2006–present

Seat 3 Seat established on March 3, 1927 by 44 Stat. 1380 Moinet 1927–1946 Levin 1946–1970 DeMascio 1971–1988 Friedman 1988–2009 Drain 2012–2022 McMillion 2023–present

Seat 4 Seat established on February 20, 1931 by 46 Stat. 1197 O'Brien 1931–1948 Thornton 1949–1966 Keith 1967–1977 Boyle 1978–1983 Woods 1983–1993 Hood 1994–2022 Grey 2023–present

Seat 5 Seat established on May 31, 1938 by 52 Stat. 585 Picard 1939–1959 Machrowicz 1961–1970 Kennedy 1970–1979 Gilmore 1980–1991 O'Meara 1994–2007 Goldsmith 2010–present

Seat 6 Seat established on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 Freeman 1954–1973 Harvey 1974–1984 Suhrheinrich 1984–1990 Edmunds 1992–2012 Levy 2014–present

Seat 7 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 McCree, Jr. 1961–1966 Gubow 1968–1978 Cook, Jr. 1978–1996 Tarnow 1998–2010 Berg 2012–present

Seat 8 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 Smith 1961–1971 Joiner 1972–1984 Hackett 1986–1997 Steeh III 1998–2013 Michelson 2014–present

Seat 9 Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 Feikens 1970–1986 Gadola 1988–2001 Ludington 2006–present

Seat 10 Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 Pratt 1970–1989 Rosen 1990–2016 Davis 2019–2022 DeClercq 2023–present

Seat 11 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Cohn 1979–1999 Lawson 2000–2021 Behm 2022–present

Seat 12 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Newblatt 1979–1993 Borman 1994–2023 White 2024–present

Seat 13 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Taylor 1979–1998 Battani 2000–2012 Leitman 2014–present

Seat 14 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 La Plata 1985–1996 Roberts 1998–2021 Kumar 2021–present

Seat 15 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Duggan, Jr. 1986–2000 Murphy III 2008–present

See also

• Courts of Michigan
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in Michigan

References

1. "Dawn N. Ison Sworn in As United States Attorney". The United States Attorney's Office. December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
2. U.S. District Courts of Michigan, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
3. Judges of the District of Michigan, Federal Judicial Center.
4. 28 U.S.C. § 102
5. "Chief federal judge Sean Cox to retire, giving Trump early vacancy to fill". The Detroit News. February 28, 2025.

External links

• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Official Website
• United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Official Website

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