Marilyn Jean Kelly (born April 15, 1938) is a retired jurist in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. She was elected to two terms both on the

Michigan Court of Appeals The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reported both in an official publication of ...

and as a justice of the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the sta ...

. Due to her being over 70 years old, Kelly was prohibited by the

Michigan Constitution The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government. There have been four constitutions approved by the people of Michigan. The fi ...

to seek re-election in 2012. Following Clifford Taylor's defeat in the 2008 elections, Justice Kelly was elected 4-3 to succeed him as Chief Justice of Michigan. She held that position until 2011 when Robert P. Young, Jr. was elected by the justices of the court.

Biography

Kelly is a

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

native and 1956 graduate of Mackenzie High School. In late 1956, Marilyn Jean Kelly moved to Ypsilanti to begin undergraduate coursework at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

; she received her

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from E.M.U. in 1960. One year later, Kelly was awarded an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in French Language and Literature from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all 5 ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

. Following a brief stay in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, wrapping up her graduate studies at

La Sorbonne The University of Paris (french: link=no, Université de Paris), metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revolution ...

- the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, Kelly spent five years teaching French in the

Grosse Pointe Grosse Pointe refers to an affluent coastal area next to Detroit, Michigan, United States, that comprises five adjacent individual cities. From southwest to northeast, they are: * Grosse Pointe Park * Grosse Pointe * Grosse Pointe Farms * Grosse ...

public school system,

Albion College Albion College is a private liberal arts college in Albion, Michigan. The college was founded in 1835 and its undergraduate population was approximately 1,500 students in 2014. They participate in NCAA Division III and the Michigan Interco ...

and

Law career

Marilyn Jean Kelly also served on the

Michigan State Board of Education The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is a state agency of Michigan, in the United States. The MDE oversees public school districts in the state. The department is governed by the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education was ...

during the 1960s; later elected as President of the statewide organization. In 1971, Marilyn Jean Kelly graduated with honors from the

Wayne State University Law School Wayne State University Law School (Wayne Law) is the law school of Wayne State University in Detroit. Wayne Law is located in Midtown, Detroit's Cultural Center. Founded in 1927, the law school offers juris doctor (J.D.), master of laws (LL.M.), ...

. For the next seventeen years, Kelly clerked and practiced law as an associate attorney; eventually opening her own practice - Marilyn Kelly and Associates, of

Bloomfield Hills Bloomfield Hills is a small city (5.04 sq. miles) in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is approximately northwest of Downtown Detroit. Except a small southern border with the city of Bir ...

. In 1988, Kelly was elected to the first of two consecutive terms on the

. In 1996, during her second term on the appellate court, Marilyn Jean Kelly won election to the

. Justice Kelly won a landslide re-election to the high court in 2004; receiving over 2 million votes - nearly half a million more than the runner-up.

References

External links

Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Marilyn Jean Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Michigan state court judges Living people 1938 births Eastern Michigan University alumni Middlebury College alumni Wayne State University Law School alumni Eastern Michigan University faculty University of Paris alumni Lawyers from Detroit 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American women judges Mackenzie High School (Michigan) alumni American women academics Chief Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States