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The bench
Judges hold public power. Here's who they are, how they got there, and how they rule.
Federal
Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Jane B. Stranch is a senior judge on the federal appeals court for the Sixth Circuit. President Obama nominated her in 2009. On Sept. 30, 2026, she wrote the 2-1 order pausing Christa Pike's execution, which the U.S. Supreme Court lifted hours later.
Nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate; on the bench since 2010
Federal
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Karen Nelson Moore is a judge on the federal appeals court for the Sixth Circuit. President Clinton nominated her; the Senate confirmed her in 1995. She joined the 2-1 order pausing Christa Pike's execution on Sept. 30, 2026. A former Supreme Court clerk, she was a law professor before the bench.
Nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate; on the bench since 1995
Federal
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Richard A. Griffin is a judge on the federal appeals court for the Sixth Circuit. President George W. Bush nominated him; the Senate confirmed him in 2005. He dissented from the Sept. 30, 2026, order pausing Christa Pike's execution, calling her filing “another last-ditch meritless effort.”
Nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate; on the bench since 2005
Federal · Massachusetts
Chief U.S. District Judge, District of Massachusetts, presiding over United States v. Farwell
Denise Jefferson Casper is chief judge of the federal court in Massachusetts. She presided over the trial of former Stoughton officer Matthew Farwell, whom a jury convicted on Nov. 10, 2026, and she set his sentencing for Feb. 3, 2027. President Obama nominated her in 2010. A former federal and state prosecutor, she presided over the 2013 Whitey Bulger trial. Federal judges serve for life.
Nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate; on the bench since 2010
Federal · Massachusetts
U.S. Magistrate Judge, District of Massachusetts
M. Page Kelley is a federal magistrate judge in Massachusetts. The district's judges appointed her in 2014. A longtime public defender, in May 2026 she ordered former Stoughton officer Matthew Farwell held until trial, calling the evidence against him “very strong, if not overwhelming.” A jury convicted him on Nov. 10, 2026.
Appointed by the court; on the bench since 2014
Federal · Michigan
U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Michigan
Susan K. DeClercq is a federal district judge in Detroit, nominated by President Joe Biden and commissioned in 2023. Since May 2026, she has presided over the federal forced-labor case against David E. Taylor, leader of the Kingdom of God Global Church, and two church executives, after two other judges stepped aside. Before the bench, she spent 18 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan, handling civil cases and civil rights enforcement.
Nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate; on the bench since 2023
Federal · South Carolina
U.S. District Judge, District of South Carolina
Joseph Dawson III is a federal district judge in South Carolina, nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed 56-39 in December 2020. He presides over United States v. John Paul Miller, a federal cyberstalking and false-statements case in which the defendant has pleaded not guilty. In 2022, the Fourth Circuit's Judicial Council publicly reprimanded him over a payment deal with his former employer, Charleston County.
Nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate; on the bench since 2020
State · Massachusetts
Associate Justice, Massachusetts Superior Court, presiding over Commonwealth v. Clancy
William F. Sullivan is a Massachusetts Superior Court judge presiding over Lindsay Clancy's murder case in Plymouth County. Gov. Deval Patrick appointed him in 2014. He is a former prosecutor and longtime defense lawyer. Massachusetts judges must retire at 70.
Appointed by the governor; on the bench since 2014
State · Michigan
Former Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals, 3rd District (2022–2026)
Christopher P. Yates served on the Michigan Court of Appeals from 2022 until he left the court on May 10, 2026, and sat on the panel that upheld the Curtis conviction. Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed him to the Kent County Circuit Court in 2008, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed him to the Court of Appeals in 2022. After retiring from the bench, he joined the law firm Ven Johnson Law in May 2026.
Appointed by the governor, then elected; on the bench since 2008
State · Michigan
Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals, 3rd District
Daniel S. Korobkin is a Michigan Court of Appeals judge appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2025, after more than 16 years at the ACLU of Michigan, most recently as legal director. He presided over the panel that upheld the Curtis conviction. He won election to the seat unopposed on Nov. 3, 2026.
Appointed by the governor; on the bench since 2025
State · Michigan
Judge, 30th Circuit Court (Ingham County, Mich.)
James S. “Jim” Jamo is an Ingham County Circuit Court judge, first elected in 2012 after 28 years as a civil litigator. He sentenced Marshawn James Curtis to 17.5 to 80 years in the untested-rape-kit case, at the top of the guidelines. He also sits on the state's business court.
Elected
State · Michigan
Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals, 3rd District
Kathleen A. Feeney was elected to the Michigan Court of Appeals in 2022 after more than 22 years on the Kent County Circuit Court, where, she has said, she was the first woman judge. She sat on the panel that upheld the Curtis conviction, and wrote the 2024 opinion letting the murder case against former Grand Rapids officer Christopher Schurr go forward. That case later ended in a mistrial, and prosecutors decided not to retry him.
Elected
State · North Carolina
Superior Court Judge, Wake County (N.C.)
Keith O. Gregory is a Wake County, N.C., Superior Court judge who presided over the Faith Hedgepeth murder trial in Durham County and sentenced Miguel Salguero-Olivares to life without parole on Oct. 23, 2026. Gov. Roy Cooper appointed him in 2018, and he won election that November. A former prosecutor and defense lawyer, he won re-election unopposed on Nov. 3, 2026, according to unofficial results.
Appointed by the governor, then elected
State · Ohio
Judge, Miami County Court of Common Pleas, General Division
Jeannine N. Pratt has been a judge of the Miami County Court of Common Pleas in Troy, Ohio, since February 2015, after 18 years as a county assistant prosecutor. She presided over the 2026 murder trial of Caleb Flynn and on Oct. 5, 2026, sentenced him to life in prison without parole. She was re-elected without opposition Nov. 3, 2026.
Elected; on the bench since 2015
State · Tennessee
Chancellor, Davidson County Chancery Court, Part III (Tenn.)
I'Ashea L. Myles is a Davidson County, Tenn., chancellor. Elected in 2022, she ordered the state on Oct. 7, 2026, to preserve all evidence from Christa Pike's failed execution. A former litigator who represented clients in construction, business and real estate matters, she also ruled in 2024 to keep the Covenant School shooter's writings private, a ruling the Court of Appeals largely reversed in 2026.
Elected; on the bench since 2022
State · Tennessee
Senior Judge, Tennessee; special master in Christa Pike's method-of-execution challenge
W. Mark Ward is a Tennessee senior judge appointed by the state Supreme Court as special master in Christa Pike's challenge to the execution method. After a three-day hearing in August 2026, he found she hadn't proved her claims, and the Tennessee Supreme Court rejected them in September. He was a Shelby County criminal court judge from 2004 to 2022.
Appointed by the court
State · Tennessee
Circuit Court Judge, Montgomery and Robertson counties (Tenn.)
William R. “Bill” Goodman III is a Tennessee circuit judge for Montgomery and Robertson counties, elected in 2014 and re-elected unopposed in 2022. Matthew Konen entered his 2021 not-guilty plea in Goodman's courtroom; news reports haven't named the judge who presided at Konen's 2026 trial. Goodman practiced law for 37 years, most recently in Springfield, Tenn., before taking the bench.
Elected; on the bench since 2014
State · Virginia
Judge, Prince William County Circuit Court (Va.), presiding over Commonwealth v. Bhatt
Kimberly A. Irving is a Prince William County Circuit Court judge in Virginia. She joined the circuit bench in 2015 after working as a county prosecutor and a trial lawyer. She presided over the murder trial of Naresh Bhatt, whom a jury convicted Nov. 10, 2026, and she will sentence him March 12, 2027. She allowed cameras at the trial but barred a livestream.
