Bolden to take oath in January as first Black woman on state's high court

LANSING — On Nov. 22, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced she will appoint Kyra Harris Bolden to the Michigan Supreme Court in January 2023 to succeed Justice Bridget Mary McCormack. Bolden will be the first Black woman to serve on the high court and is the governor’s first appointment to the supreme court.   

Bolden currently serves as a State Representative for Michigan’s 35th House District. First elected in November 2018, she began her service in January 2019 and was re-elected to a second term in 2020. As a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, she serves as the Assistant Democratic Leader and as a member of the House Judiciary and Insurance Committees. She has focused her work on criminal justice reform, crafting and passing bipartisan legislation to protect survivors of sexual violence. Bolden has successfully passed pieces of critical bipartisan legislation into law, including the “Medically Frail” prison reform package, the revision of the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act, and the “Address Confidentiality for Survivors of Domestic Violence” package. She is co-chair of the Legislative Attorney’s Caucus and chair of the House Democratic Caucus Diversity, Equity, and Including Committee.   

Previously Bolden was a civil litigation attorney with Lewis & Munday, P.C. in Detroit. She also worked as a staff attorney for Judge John A. Murphy in the 3rd Circuit Court of Wayne County and as a court-appointed criminal defense attorney for the 46th District Court of Southfield. Early in her legal career, Bolden worked as a law clerk for the Law Office of Liss and Shapero, the Detroit Public Schools Office of Labor Relations, and for McLemore Law of Detroit.   

Bolden earned her JD from the  Detroit Mercy Law, and  Bachelor of Science  from Grand Valley State University. She is a member of the Wolverine Bar Association, D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, and Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.  

Bolden will serve a partial term expiring at noon on January 1, 2025.

If she wishes to complete the remainder of Justice Bridget Mary McCormack’s term, which expires on January 1, 2029, she will be required to run for re-election in November 2024.

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