Alton Davis
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alton Thomas Davis (born c. 1946-47) is an American prosecutor, jurist and former member 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 s ...
.


Legal career

Davis began his legal career as an assistant prosecuting attorney in
Crawford County, Michigan Crawford County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 12,988 as of the 2020 census. The county seat of Crawford County is Grayling, the county's only incorporated community. Crawford County is located in the Northern ...
and eventual served four years as the elected prosecutor. He then spent 21 years as a judge on the 46th Circuit Court, spending 17 years as chief judge. In July 2005, Davis was appointed to the 4th District of the Michigan Court of Appeals by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, replacing Judge Richard A. Griffin, who had been confirmed by the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
to be a judge
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of K ...
. Davis was elected to finish the remainder of Griffin's term in 2006 and to a full term in 2008.


Michigan Supreme Court Appointment

In 2010, amidst rumors that the Michigan Republican Party would not formally nominate her for a third term, Justice Elizabeth Weaver announced plans to run as an independent. Just days before both political parties were to formally nominate candidates for the statewide ballot, Weaver unexpectedly resigned from the court, allowing Granholm to appoint Davis as her replacement, serving the final four months of Weaver's term. The appointment of Davis gave Democratic-nominated or appointed justices a brief, but solid 4-3 majority on the Court after years being in the minority after appointments from former Gov.
John Engler John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948) is an American politician, lawyer, businessman, and lobbyist who served as the 46th governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. Considered one of the country's top lobbyists, he is a member of the Republi ...
. The first formal opinion from Davis was a dissenting opinion in ''Certified Question (Waeschle v Oakland Co Med Examiner),'' a case that involved whether the next of kin of a deceased person had the right to possess the brain of a dead relative if the brain had been detained by the county medical examiner in investigation of a crime. Davis did not rule on the merits, instead saying he believed the Court should not have been involved in the case. Davis was formally nominated for a full-term by the Michigan Democratic Party on August 29, 2010. He was defeated by Republican Mary Beth Kelly, despite prominent endorsements from high-profile labor unions. Considered a friend of organized labor throughout his career, Davis was endorsed by the United Auto Workers, Michigan AFL-CIO, Michigan Nurses Association, Michigan Professional Firefighters Union, the Police Officers Association of Michigan Union and others. Before being appointed by Granholm to the Court, Davis worked as the Chairman of the Crawford County Democratic Party, was a Regional Coordinator for former Democratic Governor James Blanchard's first gubernatorial campaign and was a Blanchard appointee to the Michigan State Building Authority. Davis is also a member of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association.


Personal life

Alton Davis hails from Crawford County in Michigan's northern lower peninsula, and lives with his wife in Grayling, just south of the Mackinac Bridge. Davis has two grown daughters.


Education

Davis holds degrees from
North Central Michigan College North Central Michigan College (NCMC) is a Public college, public community college in Petoskey, Michigan. It was established in 1959 and is Michigan's 12th community college. NCMC has two additional learning centers, one in Gaylord, Michigan a ...
,
Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...
. He earned his JD from the
Detroit College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the f ...
.


Electoral history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Alton Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Michigan Democrats University of Michigan–Dearborn alumni Notre Dame Law School alumni