SBLT - Sitenotice Banner-02.png

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Western District of Michigan
Sixth Circuit
MI-WD.gif
Judgeships
Posts: 4
Judges: 4
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Hala Jarbou
Active judges: Jane M. Beckering, Hala Yalda Jarbou, Robert Jonker, Paul Maloney

Senior judges:
Robert Holmes Bell, Janet Neff, Gordon Quist


The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan is one of 94 United States district courts. It was established by an act of Congress on December 24, 1863. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, based in downtown Cincinnati, at the Potter A. Stewart Federal Courthouse and Building.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, out of the court's four judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.


Active judges

Article III judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Paul Maloney

George W. Bush (R)

July 13, 2007 -

Lehigh University, 1972

University of Detroit, Mercy School of Law, 1975

Robert Jonker

George W. Bush (R)

July 16, 2007 -

Calvin College, 1982

University of Michigan Law School, 1985

Hala Yalda Jarbou

Donald Trump (R)

September 23, 2020 -

University of Michigan, 1994

Wayne State University Law School, 1997

Jane M. Beckering

Joe Biden (D)

December 21, 2021 -

University of Michigan

University of Wisconsin


Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 1
  • Republican appointed: 3

Senior judges

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Gordon Quist

George H.W. Bush (R)

January 1, 2006 -

Michigan State University, 1959

George Washington University Law Center, 1962

Robert Holmes Bell

Ronald Reagan (R)

January 31, 2017 -

Wheaton College, 1966

Wayne State University Law School, 1969

Janet Neff

George W. Bush (R)

March 1, 2021 -

University of Pittsburgh, 1967

Wayne State University Law School, 1970


Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

  • Democrat appointed: 0
  • Republican appointed: 3

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.[1]

Judge Appointed By Assumed Office Bachelors Law

Phillip J. Green

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

August 1, 2014 -

Ray Kent

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

August 1, 2015 -

Michigan State University

Wayne State University

Maarten Vermaat

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

March 15, 2019 -

Sally Berens

United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan

November 2, 2019 -


Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.[2]

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.[3][4][5]

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.[3][4][5]

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.[2][3][4][5]

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.[6]


Former judges

For more information on the judges of the Western District of Michigan, see former federal judges of the Western District of Michigan.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of the Western District of Michigan (click for larger map)

The Western District of Michigan has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The District Court is based in Grand Rapids, courthouses also located in Kalamazoo, Lansing and Marquette in the Upper Peninsula.

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024.

Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.


United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan caseload stats, 2010-2023
Year Cases Filed Cases Terminated Cases Pending Number of Judgeships Vacant Judgeship Months Average Total Filings per Judgeship Trials Completed per Judgeship Median time from filing to disposition, criminal Median time from filing to disposition, civil Three-year civil cases (#) Three-year civil cases (%)
2010 2,426 2,418 1,733 4 0 607 24 6 6 46 3
2011 2,476 2,379 1,782 4 0 619 23 6 6 57 4
2012 2,602 2,576 1,897 4 0 651 23 7 7 72 5
2013 2,349 2,466 1,771 4 0 587 21 8 8 80 5
2014 2,202 2,139 1,826 4 0 551 18 7 8 86 6
2015 2,107 2,203 1,717 4 0 527 18 8 9 74 5
2016 2,340 2,415 1,638 4 0 585 21 7 9 80 6
2017 1,987 2,141 1,486 4 11 497 17 7 9 50 4
2018 2,360 2,138 1,703 4 3 590 21 7 7 49 4
2019 1,951 2,025 1,611 4 12 488 17 7 8 43 3
2020 2,012 2,091 1,533 4 8 503 10 8 8 65 5
2021 1,899 2,077 1,356 4 10 475 18 8 8 48 4
2022 1,951 1,995 1,340 4 0 488 17 9 6 44 4
2023 2,067 1,931 1,494 4 0 517 11 9 6 32 3
Average 2,195 2,214 1,635 4 3 549 19 7 8 59 4

History

On July 1, 1836, Statute 5 Stat. 61 organized the state of Michigan as one judicial district. One judgeship was authorized for this U.S. district court, and being that it was not assigned to a judicial circuit, the district court was granted the same jurisdiction as the United States circuit courts, excluding appeals and writs of error, which are the jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court.

On March 3, 1837, the circuit court jurisdiction was repealed, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Michigan was assigned to the Seventh Circuit, in addition to establishing a circuit court for the district.

Congress reorganized the circuits and assigned Michigan to the Eighth Circuit on July 15, 1862, followed by being reassigned to the Seventh Circuit on January 28, 1863.

The State of Michigan was divided into two judicial districts on February 24, 1863. The districts were known as the Eastern District of Michigan and the Western District of Michigan. One judgeship was authorized for each district, and the district judge serving the District of Michigan was assigned to the Eastern District of Michigan.

Congress again reorganized the circuits and assigned Michigan to the Sixth Circuit on July 23, 1866. Over time, three additional judicial posts were added for a total of four current posts.[7]

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Western District of Michigan:[7]

Year Statute Total Seats
February 24, 1863 12 Stat. 660 1
February 17, 1925 43 Stat. 949 2
February 10, 1954 68 Stat. 8 2
October 20, 1978 92 Stat. 1629 4
December 1, 1990 104 Stat. 5089 5 (1 temporary)
1996 Temporary position expired 4

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see Justia.com-Dockets and Filings-Western District of Michigan.

Federal courthouse

Four separate courthouses serve the Western District of Michigan and are located in Grand Rapids, Lansing, Kalamazoo, and Marquette.[8]

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.[9][10]

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.[11]

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through September 1 of the fourth year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Bill Clinton had the most district court appointments with 169.


Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.


Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.[10]

Step ApprovedA Candidacy Proceeds DefeatedA Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation Candidate becomes federal judge Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.[12]


See also

External links


Footnotes

  1. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Magistrate Judgeships," accessed April 29, 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Courts, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed January 25, 2022
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 136 - Chief judges; precedence of district judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 258 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 45 - Chief judges; precedence of judges," accessed January 25, 2022
  6. ↑ Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, "28 U.S. Code § 171 - Appointment and number of judges; character of court; designation of chief judge," accessed January 25, 2022
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Western District of Michigan, "History of the Western District of Michigan," accessed August 2, 2014
  8. ↑ Western District of Michigan, "Court Locations," accessed May 11, 2021
  9. ↑ US Courts, "Federal Judgeships," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 U.S. Courts, "United States District Court Federal Judiciary Frequently Asked Questions," accessed May 10, 2021 (archived)
  11. ↑ United States District Courts, "District Courts," accessed May 10, 2021
  12. ↑ The 'Lectric Law Library, "Understanding the U.S. federal courts"



Flag of Michigan
v • e
State of Michigan
Lansing (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=United_States_District_Court_for_the_Western_District_of_Michigan&oldid=9945994"