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Former Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals, 3rd District (2022–2026)

Hon. Christopher P. Yates

Bench Watch Brief · Profile in brief

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.

Before the bench

Kent County Circuit Court judge, 2008–2022, running its business docket. Before that, he was a law firm partner, chief defender in the Federal Public Defender's Office, an Assistant U.S. Attorney and an attorney-adviser at the U.S. Department of Justice. He clerked for Chief U.S. District Judge James Churchill and U.S. Appellate Judge Ralph Guy.

Highlights and issues

  1. Notable ruling

    Sits on the panel that upholds the Curtis conviction

  2. Election

    Re-elected to the Court of Appeals, unopposed

  3. Notable ruling

    Writes for the court that a defendant who objected was entitled to be sentenced by the judge who took his plea, if that judge is reasonably available (People v. Bennett, published)

  4. Notable ruling

    Writes for the court upholding suppression of a blood draw because the warrant didn't say whose blood (People v. Brcic, published)

  5. Election

    Appointed to the Court of Appeals by Gov. Whitmer

Cases we follow in this courtroom

  • Video · WDIV Local 4
    AppealDecided

    People of the State of Michigan v. Marshawn James Curtis

    Mich. Ct. App. · No. Mich. Ct. App. No. 369945

    A rape kit from a 2012 Lansing assault sat untested after prosecutors declined to charge. Sent to a lab in 2016 as part of a statewide initiative, the kit's DNA was later matched to Marshawn James Curtis, whom an Ingham County jury convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2023. The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the conviction on March 19, 2026, and court records show no further appeal.

    Updated November 14, 2026 · 2 min read

Sources