Kurtis T. Wilder (born April 26, 1959) is a former associate 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 s ...

, appointed in May 2017 by Gov.

Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. Snyder, who was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, ...

Biography

Wilder was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, educated in the public schools and graduated from

Cleveland Heights High School Cleveland Heights High School is the senior high school of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, United States. History Cleveland Heights High School was established in 1901 by the ...

. He then attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, graduating in 1981 with an A.B. degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, and earned his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

in 1984. After law school, he was in private practice with Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith P.C. in Lansing, and Butzel Long P.C. in Detroit. In March 1992, Governor

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 ...

appointed Wilder as judge of the

Washtenaw County Washtenaw County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 372,258. The county seat and largest city is Ann Arbor. The county was authorized by legislation in 1822 and organized as a county ...

Circuit Court to complete the six-year term of Ross W. Campbell. In November 1992, Wilder was elected to a full term, and was the first African American judge elected in that county. In December 1998, Governor Engler elevated Wilder to the Michigan First District

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

. Wilder was elected in 2000, and re-elected in 2004, 2010 and 2016. On May 9, 2017, Governor Snyder appointed Wilder to the Michigan Supreme Court. Wilder completed his predecessor

Robert P. Young Jr. Robert P. Young Jr. (born June 13, 1951) is a former justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Young was first appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court in 1999, elected in 2000 and 2002, and again won reelection in 2010 for a term ending in 2019. Jus ...

's term in December 2018. In November 2018, Wilder ran unsuccessfully for election to a full eight-year term but was defeated by

Megan Cavanagh Megan Cavanagh (born 1960) is an American actress. Early life and education Cavanagh was born in 1960 in Chicago, the daughter of Jim and Rita. Raised in River Forest along with her four siblings, Cavanagh went to Oak Park and River Forest High ...

in the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

by 54,000 votes out of 3 million cast. His departure left the Court with no sitting African-American justice. After leaving office, he returned to practice law at Butzel Long. In July 2017, Wilder received the Honorable Harold Hood Award, presented by the Association of Black Judges of Michigan. In October 2018, he was presented the

Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Cooley Law School (Cooley) is a private law school in Lansing, Michigan, and Riverview, Florida. It was established in 1972. At its peak in 2010, Cooley had over 3,900 students and was the largest US law school by enrollment; as of the spring of ...

Integrity Award. He is a member of the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism, textualist an ...

Personal life

Wilder lives in

Canton, Michigan Canton Township (commonly known simply as Canton) is a charter township in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Canton is located roughly west of downtown Detroit, and e ...

, and has two children.

References

Videos

Justice Kurtis Wilder Investiture
Michigan Supreme Court. October 17, 2017 (1:28:41 mins). YouTube.com.

External links

Michigan Supreme Court Bio

Profile
Ballotpedia.com. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilder, Kurtis T. 1959 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Michigan Court of Appeals judges Superior court judges in the United States University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni African-American judges Lawyers from Cleveland Michigan Republicans Cleveland Heights High School alumni 21st-century African-American lawyers 20th-century African-American lawyers

Biography

Personal life

See also

References

Videos

External links