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Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals, 3rd District

Hon. Kathleen A. Feeney

Bench Watch Brief · Profile in brief

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.

Before the bench

Kent County Circuit Court judge, 2000–2022, from its Family Division; named chief judge pro tem in 2018. Before that, she was in private practice in family, employment and insurance law, worked in the Court of Appeals' research division and served as judicial counsel to Judge Jane E. Markey.

Highlights and issues

  1. Notable ruling

    Sits on the panel that upholds the Curtis conviction

  2. Notable ruling

    Writes for the court letting the second-degree murder case against former officer Christopher Schurr proceed (People v. Schurr, published)

    The trial ended in a mistrial on May 8, 2025, when the jury couldn't reach a verdict, and the Kent County prosecutor announced on May 22, 2025, that he would not retry Schurr.

  3. Election

    Elected to the Court of Appeals, 61.9% to 38.1%

  4. Election

    A court rules she can be listed as the incumbent on the ballot after a dispute over a filing deadline

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