View source for Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan

{{Michigan law}}
The '''Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan''' is the largest [[circuit court]] in the state, with 61 judges and three operating divisions as of 2023. The Third Circuit Court has jurisdiction over civil, criminal, and family matters arising in [[Wayne County, Michigan|Wayne County]]. The [[National Center for State Courts]] has cited the Third Circuit Court as one of the model urban courts in the United States for case flow management and the timely disposition of the Court's [[Docket (court)|docket]].

==Organization==
The Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan has 3 divisions, with the Family Division having three subsections.

* Civil Division
* Criminal Division
* Family Division
** Domestic Section
** Friend of the Court
** Juvenile section

===Civil===
Civil maters are claims that involve more than $25,000.00 it also handles appeals from civil matters appealed from Wayne County district courts and administrative agencies. 
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Judge
!Tenure
!Term End
!Years in office
|-
|Patricia P. Fresard
|1999
|2029
|24
|-
|Leslie Kim Smith
|2018
|2025
|
|-
|David J. Allen
|2003
|2027
|19
|-
|Annette J. Berry
|2018
|2025
|
|-
|Charlene M. Elder
|2006
|2027
|
|-
|Edward Ewell, Jr.
|2018
|2025
|
|-
|Sheila Ann Gibson
|1999
|2029
|24
|-
|John H. Gillis, Jr.
|1997
|2027
|
|-
|Adel A. Harb
|2015
|2025
|
|-
|Dana M. Hathaway
|2013
|2025
|
|-
|Charles S. Hegarty
|2013
|
|
|-
|Catherine L. Heise
|
|
|
|-
|Susan L. Hubbard
|2011
|2029
|12
|-
|Muriel D. Hughes
|2006
|2029
|
|-
|Edward J. Joseph
|2014
|2027
|
|-
|Qiana Denise Lillard
|2013
|
|
|-
|Kathleen M. McCarthy
|
|
|
|-
|Martha M. Snow
|2015
|2029
|8
|-
|Brian R. Sullivan
|1999
|2029
|
|}

=== Criminal ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Judge
!Term Start
!Term End
|-
|Donald L. Knapp
|
|
|-
|Charise Anderson
|
|
|-
|Chandra W. Baker-Robinson
|
|
|-
|Mariam Bazzi
|
|
|-
|Gregory Dean Bill
|
|
|-
|Christopher Blount
|
|
|-
|Bradley L. Cobb
|
|
|-
|Kevin J. Cox
|
|
|-
|Kiefer Cox
|
|
|-
|Paul J. Cusick
|
|
|-
|Prentis Edwards, Jr.
|
|
|-
|Wanda A. Evans
|
|
|-
|John C Gillis
|
|
|-
|Tracy E. Green
|
|
|-
|Bridget Mary Hathaway
|
|
|-
|Nicholas J. Hathaway
|
|
|-
|Anne M. McCarthy
|
|
|-
|Kelly A. Ramsey
|
|
|-
|Mark T. Slavens
|
|
|-
|Deborah A. Thomas
|
|
|-
|Regina D. Thomas
|
|
|-
|Margaret M. Van Houten
|
|
|-
|Shannon N. Walker
|
|
|-
|Darnella D. Williams-Claybourne
|
|
|}


== Chief Judges<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.3rdcc.org/Documents/Administration/General/AnnualReports/2016%5EAnnual%20Report%20for%202016%5E%5E.pdf|title=Third Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan 2016 Annual Report|year=2017|pages=43}}</ref> ==

{| class="wikitable"
!Chief Judges
!Term
|-
|Joseph A. Sullivan
|January 1967 - January 1975
|-
|James N. Canham
|January 1975 - December 1977
|-
|Richard Dunn
|January 1978 - December 1985
|-
|Joseph B. Sullivan
|January 1986 - March 1986
|-
|W. Leo Cahalan
|March 1986 - March 1986
|-
|Richard Kaufman
|March 1986 - December 1993
|-
|James Rashid
|January 1994 - September 1997
|-
|Michael Sapala
|October 1997 - December 2001
|-
|Timothy Kenny (Co-Chief Judge)
|January 2002 - December 2003
|-
|Mary Beth Kelly
|January 2002 - December 2007
|-
|William Giovan
|January 2008 - December 2008
|-
|Virgil C. Smith
|January 2009 - December 2013
|-
|Robert J. Colombo
|January 2014 - Present
|}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* {{official|https://www.3rdcc.org/}}

[[Category:Circuit courts in the United States]]
[[Category:Michigan state courts]]
[[Category:Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing]]