Paul David Borman (born January 7, 1939) is a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

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 United States district court, federal district court with jurisdiction over the eastern half of the Lower Peninsula of the State of M ...

, having been appointed in 1994. Borman was earlier an assistant United States attorney, and Special Counsel to the Mayor of Detroit. For 15 years thereafter, he was chief federal defender of the Legal Aid & Defender Association of Detroit from 1979 to 1994. When he was appointed to be a federal judge, he became the first federal defender to be appointed to the federal bench. He was also a Professor and Assistant Dean at

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.), ...

, and an Adjunct Lecturer at 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 ...

Early life and education

Borman was a native of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and his father – Tom Borman – was president of Borman Food Stores, Inc. Borman graduated from

Mumford High School Samuel C. Mumford High School is a public high school located on the near-northwest side of Detroit, Michigan. It was operated by the Detroit Public Schools, and had been operated by the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan (EAA). DPS ...

in 1956. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in economics from 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 ...

in 1959. He later received a

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

in 1962, and a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

in 1964. Borman became engaged to Susan Cohen, daughter of Manuel F. Cohen, Commissioner of the

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

, in early 1964, and married her in June of that year.

Career

Borman was a staff attorney of the

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility f ...

from 1962 to 1963. He was then an

assistant United States attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

for the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

from 1964 to 1965. He later acted as Vice President and house counsel for Borman Food Stores, Inc. Borman was a Special Counsel, Mayor's Development Team, Detroit, in 1967. He was also Special Counsel to the Mayor of Detroit,

Jerome Cavanagh Jerome Patrick Cavanagh (June 16, 1928 – November 27, 1979) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 1962 to 1970. Initially a popular figure, his reputation was seriously damaged by the city's 1967 riots, t ...

, from 1967 to 1968. He was an Assistant County Prosecutor, Wayne County, Michigan, from 1974 to 1975. He was Chief Federal Defender, Legal Aid & Defender Association of Detroit, from 1979 to 1994. When he was appointed to be a federal judge, he became the first federal defender to be appointed to the federal bench.

Academic career

Borman was a professor at

from 1968 to 1979. He was an Assistant Dean at Wayne State University Law School from 1968 to 1973. He was an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Michigan Law School from 1981 to 1994.

Federal judicial service

On March 24, 1994, Borman was nominated by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Stewart Albert Newblatt Stewart Albert Newblatt (December 23, 1927 – December 27, 2022) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Education and career Newblatt was born on December 23, 1927 in Det ...

. Borman was 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 ...

on August 9, 1994, and received his commission on August 10, 1994. He assumed senior status on August 1, 2023.

Notable cases

Judge Borman presided over the

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

of famed lawyer

Geoffrey Fieger Geoffrey Fieger is an American attorney based in Southfield, Michigan. Fieger is the founder of the law firm Fieger Law, and is an occasional legal commentator for NBC and MSNBC. His practice focuses on personal injury, civil rights litigation ...

from April 14, 2008 to June 2, 2008, on charges of violations of the

Federal Election Campaign Act The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA, , ''et seq.'') is the primary United States federal law regulating political campaign fundraising and spending. The law originally focused on creating limits for campaign spending on communicati ...

, making

false statements A false statement, also known as a falsehood, falsity, misstatement or untruth, is a statement that is false or does not align with reality. This concept spans various fields, including communication, law, linguistics, and philosophy. It is consid ...

, and

obstruction of justice In United States jurisdictions, obstruction of justice refers to a number of offenses that involve unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investiga ...

. Fieger was represented by

Gerry Spence Gerald Leonard Spence (born January 8, 1929) is a semi-retired American trial lawyer and author. He is a member of the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and is the founder of the Trial Lawyers College. Spence has never lost a criminal trial before a jur ...

and was found not guilty on all charges. On December 26, 2009, Judge Borman presided over the arraignment of Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, who was charged with an attempt to destroy an aircraft and with placing a destructive device in proximity to an aircraft, in connection with

Northwest Airlines Flight 253 The attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 occurred on December 25, 2009, aboard an Airbus A330 as it prepared to land at Detroit Metropolitan Airport following a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterd ...

. On October 5, 2012, Borman issued an injunction against Secretary of State Ruth Johnson's "citizenship checkbox" as a violation of the

Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pr ...

of the 14th amendment. In his ruling, Borman stated that the checkbox “will create chaos” and cause “irreparable injury to the voting process.” On September 14, 2018, Borman ruled that the ACLU's lawsuit against Michigan could move forward. The ACLU sued Michigan over its decision to allow faith-based agencies which receive federal funding to deny services to same-sex couples, arguing that Michigan's decision violated the

Establishment Clause In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The ''Establishment Clause'' an ...

of the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

. "The plaintiffs have adequately alleged injury in fact for both their

and

equal protection The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal pr ...

claims," wrote Borman. "This injury is at least 'fairly traceable' to the state defendants based on the allegations before the court."

Publications

Borman is the co-author, with Professors Peter Henning, Jerold Israel, and Ellen Podgor, of the casebook ''White Collar Crime: Law and Practice''.

Awards

Borman is a member of the University of Michigan Hall of Fame. He was given the

Jewish Federation The Jewish Federation (JFED) is a secular Jewish non-profit organization found within many metropolitan areas across the United States with a significant Jewish community. They provide supportive and human services, philanthropy, financial grants ...

’s Fred M. Butzel Award for Distinguished Community Service in 2007.

References

External links

*
"Confirmation hearings on federal appointments: hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, first session on confirmations of appointees to the federal judiciary"
U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, June 21, 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Borman, Paul D. 1939 births Living people American legal scholars Assistant United States attorneys Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Lawyers from Detroit United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton University of Michigan Law School alumni University of Michigan Law School faculty Wayne State University faculty Yale Law School alumni 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Mumford High School alumni