• Thomas J. Ryan, Esq., Chairperson

• Hon. Nanci J. Grant, Vice-Chairperson

• Hon. David H. Sawyer, Secretary

• Hon. Jeanne Stempien

• Nancy J. Diehl, Esq.

• Hon. Pablo Cortes

• Hon. John D. Hamilton

• Brenda L. Lawrence

• David T. Fischer

BIOGRAPHIES*

Thomas J. Ryan, Esq., Chairperson
2055 Orchard Lake Road
Sylvan Lake, Michigan 48320
Elected by state bar membership
Member since January 1, 2005
Current term expires December 31, 2013

Thomas J. Ryan is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, American Bar Association, Oakland County Bar Association, and the Oakland County Ancient Order of Hibernians.  He is a Past President of the State Bar of Michigan and was its 66th President from September, 2000 to September, 2001.  Mr. Ryan served on the Oakland County Bar Association’s Board of Directors and was its President from 1993 to 1994.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy.  He has been in the private practice of law since January 1977.  Mr. Ryan is the attorney for the Village of Beverly Hills, City of Keego Harbor, and the City of the Village of Clarkston, as well as the Prosecuting Attorney for the Township of Bloomfield.  He served as attorney for the City of Orchard Lake Village from May 2001 through April 2011.  Mr. Ryan currently serves as the Commission's Chairperson.

Hon. Nanci J. Grant, Vice-Chairperson
Judge, Sixth Circuit Court
1200 North Telegraph Road, Dept. 404
Pontiac, Michigan 48341
Elected by Circuit Court Judges
Member since January 1, 2007
Current term expires December 31, 2012

Honorable Nanci J. Grant is an Oakland County Circuit Court Judge.  She was elected by the state’s Circuit Judges to the Judicial Tenure Commission for the term commencing January 1, 2007.  Judge Grant received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from The University of Michigan, where she graduated with honors, and her Juris Doctor from Wayne State University.  She worked in private practice prior to being elected to the bench in 1996.  Judge Grant served as President of the Michigan Judges Association.  She currently is the Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Michigan and serves as the Commission’s Vice-Chairperson.

Hon. David H. Sawyer, Secretary
Michigan Court of Appeals
State Office Building
350 Ottawa, NW
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503-2349
Elected by Court of Appeals Judges
Member since January 1, 2010
Current term expires December 31, 2012

Honorable David H. Sawyer was elected to the Court of Appeals in 1986, and to the Judicial Tenure Commission by his fellow Court of Appeals judges for a term that began on January 1, 2010.  Judge Sawyer currently is Chief Judge Pro Tem of the Michigan Court of Appeals.  Before being elected to the bench, he was the Kent County Prosecuting Attorney from 1977 to 1987.  Judge Sawyer is a Past President of the Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Association.  He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arizona in 1970 and received his law degree from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1973.  Judge Sawyer currently serves as the Commission's Secretary.

Hon. Jeanne Stempien
Judge, 3rd Judicial Circuit
2 Woodward Avenue, Room 1601
Detroit, Michigan  48226
Elected by state bar membership
Member since January 1, 2004
Current term expires December 31, 2012

Honorable Jeanne Stempien is serving her third term as a Judge of the Wayne County Third Circuit Court.  She was elected to the Judicial Tenure Commission commencing January 1, 2004. Judge Stempien received a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from the University of Michigan- Dearborn and a Juris Doctor, Magna Cum Laude, from the Detroit College of Law.  In the past, she was elected the Chairperson of the Schoolcraft College Board of Trustees.  Judge Stempien served as a facilitator for the National Judicial College and is currently a member of the Inns of Court, an advocacy program for law students.

Nancy J. Diehl, Esq.
Elected by state bar membership
Member since January 1, 2006
Current term expires December 31, 2011

Nancy J. Diehl has worked as a prosecutor for 25 years, and currently heads the Felony Trial Division in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office overseeing general trials, child and family abuse, homicide, auto theft, and major drugs.  She serves on the executive committee of the Governor’s Task Force on Children’s Justice, chairs the Wayne County Council Against Family Violence, and is past president of the State Bar of Michigan.  Fellow members of the State Bar of Michigan elected her to the Judicial Tenure Commission for a term beginning January 1, 2006.  Ms. Diehl has a Bachelor of Arts from Western Michigan University and a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School.

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Hon. Pablo Cortes
Chief Judge, 62A District Court
Elected by Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
Member since January 1, 2011
Term expires December 31, 2013

Hon. Pablo Cortes is a District Court Judge in the city of Wyoming, Kent County. He was appointed to his seat in 2005 and subsequently elected in 2006 and 2008. From 1995 until taking the bench, Judge Cortes served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Kent County. Judge Cortes graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with honors in 1989 and from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit in 1995. He was elected to the Judicial Tenure Commission in 2010. Aside from his service on the commission and various community groups, Judge Cortes serves on the board of the Michigan District Court Judges Association and its Legislative Committee. He is also an Adjunct Professor at both the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Grand Rapids and the Grand Rapids Community College Police Academy. 

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Hon. John D. Hamilton
Chief Judge, Iosco County Probate Court
Elected by Probate Judges
Member since January 1, 2011
Current term expires December 31, 2011

Honorable John D. Hamilton is serving his third term as Chief Judge of Probate for the County of Iosco and Presiding Judge of Iosco Family Court in the 23rd Judicial Circuit.  He was elected to the Judicial Tenure Commission by his fellow Probate Court Judges for a term that began on January 1, 2011.  Judge Hamilton graduated from Michigan State University in 1974 and from the Detroit College of Law in 1977.  Prior to being elected to the bench, he had a private law practice in East Tawas specializing in banking, corporate, probate, and family law.  He is Past President of the National MSU Alumni Association, organizer and Past President of the Iosco County MSU Alumni Association, past board member and officer of the Tawas Area Chamber of Commerce, Past President and Officer of the Tawas Area Lion's Club, and a member of numerous civic/service organizations and clubs.  He has been married for 33 years to his wife Jeanne (a retired teacher) and has two married daughters and two grandchildren.

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Brenda L. Lawrence
Appointed by governor
Member since January 1, 2011
Current term expires December 31, 2013

Mayor Brenda L. Lawrence is a long-time resident of the City of Southfield. A product of Michigan’s public school system, Mayor Lawrence is an alumna of Pershing High School and received her BA in Public Administration from Central Michigan University.  Ms. Lawrence was elected Mayor of the City of Southfield in November of 2001. She is the first African American and first woman mayor of Southfield, a city with a population of over 78,000 residents, a city budget of $143 million, and 833 city employees. Mayor Lawrence is committed to diversity, fiscal responsibility, education, and keeping a clean and safe city.

Mayor Lawrence has received many honors for her leadership skills and commitment to diversity. She was recognized in October 2007 as one of Crain’s “2007 Most Influential Women.” She has also received the “2004 Wand Award” for breaking new frontiers for women and minorities, the Jewish War Veterans-State of Michigan “Brotherhood Award,” the Leadership Detroit “Challenging the Process” award, the ABWA Millennium Chapter “Woman of the Year Award,” the Detroit Historical Society’s “Enterprising Women” award, Leadership Oakland’s 2004 Distinguished Leadership & Future Leaders Award for Exemplary Leadership, and the “Black Women Achiever Award.” Mayor Lawrence has also been named to the Women’s Informal Network “List of the Most Influential African American Women in Metropolitan Detroit” and CORP Magazine’s “95 Most Influential Women in Michigan.” Through a survey of area leadership organizations, Ms. Lawrence was identified by Crain’s Detroit Business as a regional leader with the “skills and determination to bridge the historic parochialism of the metropolitan area.”

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David T. Fischer
Appointed by governor
Member since January 18, 2012
Current term expires December 31, 2014

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*As provided by Commissioners