Robert Hardy Cleland (born April 26, 1947) is a senior United States district judge of the

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 of the eastern half of the Lower Peninsula of the State of Michigan. The Court is based ...

Education and career

Born in St. Clair,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, Cleland received a

Bachelor of Arts 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 year ...

degree from Michigan State University in 1969 and a Juris Doctor from the

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in North Caro ...

in 1972. He was in private practice in

Port Huron Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

, Michigan from 1972 to 1975. He was a county assistant prosecuting attorney of Port Huron from 1972 to 1980, serving as Chief Assistant from 1977 to 1980. He was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Saint Clair County, Michigan in 1980, and was re-elected twice, serving in that position from 1981 to 1990.

Federal judicial service

On February 20, 1990, Cleland was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to a seat on the

vacated by

James Paul Churchill James Paul Churchill (April 10, 1924 – June 29, 2020) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Education and career Churchill was born in Imlay City, Michigan. He served in ...

. Cleland was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on June 18, 1990, and received his commission on June 19, 1990. He took senior status on February 28, 2013.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleland, Robert Hardy 1947 births Living people Michigan State University alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush 20th-century American judges People from St. Clair, Michigan 21st-century American judges