Mester appointed ombudsman

Chief Judge Gerald E. Rosen announced this month that he has appointed former Judge Fred M. Mester as court ombudsman for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Mester served as a circuit judge for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Michigan from 1982 to 2009. He is currently a certified mediator, arbitrator and facilitator, and a visiting circuit judge for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Michigan. He previously was an independent hearing officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield and court administrator for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Michigan (1975-1982). He was also chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and an attorney for Chrysler Corporation. He served on a Merit Selection Panel for District Court to select a magistrate judge in 2011, and was appointed as a special grand juror in Hong Kong in 2004. He is a resident of Bloomfield Hills with an office in Birmingham.

Mester is an active member of the Federal Bar Association, both locally and nationally, serving as president in the local chapter in 1979-1980 and first vice-president of the national organization in 1982-1983. He is also a member of the American Judges Association, Michigan Judges Association, Oakland County Bar Association, and State Bar of Michigan, and is currently the treasurer at Wolverine Academy.

Mester is a U.S. Army Veteran. His public service also includes an appointment by Gov. Snyder as commissioner on the Michigan Community Service Commission, former president of the Central Michigan University Alumni Association, president of the Pontiac Alumni Association, founder and president of the board of directors for Reading to Reduce Recidivism, chairman of the board of directors for William Booth Legal Aid Clinic, and many more.

Mester has received many honors during his career including the 2006 Michigan Bar Association’s Champion of Justice Award, 2006 Women’s Bar Association Award, Central Michigan University’s Centennial Award, Earl W. Kinter Award for outstanding leadership and service to the FBA. He was also named one of the top three civil and criminal judges in Michigan for 2005 and 2006, according to Detroit News readers.

According to Rosen, Mester will serve as an intermediary between judicial officers of the Eastern District of Michigan and the Bar. He will act on an informal basis to interface and address those matters lacking an institutional mechanism or forum for redress. Mester will serve as ombudsman without compensation. He succeeds Attorney George Bedrosian who recently passed away.

In making the appointment, Rosen said “Our Court is very pleased and fortunate to welcome Judge Mester to our Court family. By virtue of his lengthy and varied experience and public service, Judge Mester will be an outstanding liaison between our Bench and the Bar.”

Rosen will formally introduce Mester as the court’s ombudsman and administer an oath to him at a court gathering in the near future. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan is the eighth largest federal trial court with court facilities in Ann Arbor, Bay City, Detroit, Flint and Port Huron.