Thomas Giles Kavanagh (August 14, 1917 – February 20, 1997) was an American jurist. Born in

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city in Bay County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 32,661 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located just upriver from the Saginaw Bay on the Saginaw River. It is the princip ...

, Kavanagh graduated from the University of Detroit High School. He then received his bachelor's degree from

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in 1938 and his law degree from

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is the law school of the University of Detroit Mercy and is located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan across from the Renaissance Center. Founded in 1912, Detroit Mercy Law is a private Roman Catholic l ...

in 1943. In 1964, Kavanagh was elected to 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 reporter (law), reported both in an officia ...

. From 1969 until 1985, Kavanagh served on 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 ...

and was chief justice from 1975 to 1979. Kavanagh was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. He died in

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Royal Oak is located roughly north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cens ...

of lung cancer.'Deaths-Thomas Giles Kavanagh,' The Daily Globe (Ironwood, Michigan), February 22, 1997, pg. 13A

Notes

1917 births 1997 deaths Politicians from Bay City, Michigan University of Notre Dame alumni University of Detroit Mercy alumni Michigan Democrats Michigan Court of Appeals judges Chief justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Deaths from lung cancer in Michigan 20th-century Michigan state court judges Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court {{Michigan-state-judge-stub