Whitmer announced Judge Kellen Dotson’s appointment in July
On Tuesday, Sept. 26, Cooley Law School graduate Kellen A. Dotson, celebrated his investiture to the 61st District Court in Grand Rapids. Judge Dotson is the son of Cooley Professor Mark Dotson, his wife, Laura Dotson, both Cooley Law School graduates; and Lucia Williams.
“It is an honor to be among the many Cooley Law School graduates who now uphold the law as judges in Michigan and our country,” said Judge Dotson. “It was an extremely proud and humbling moment to have so many of my Cooley law family from near and far attend my investiture to celebrate this accomplishment, especially my father – a Cooley graduate himself, who placed the judge’s robe on me during the event. My parents have always been there to support me in my law career, and I deeply appreciate everything they have taught me along the way.”
Numerous Cooley professors who had Judge Dotson as a student, as well as Cooley graduates and staff, and area judges attended the investiture in person and virtually, including Cooley Dean Tracey Brame, professors Tonya Krause-Phelan, Richard Henke, and Mable Martin-Scott; Judge Cynthia Ward, Judge Curt Benson, as well as former Cooley professors Christopher Hastings, Kevin Scott, and Polly Brennan, wife of the late Thomas Brennan, founder of Cooley Law School.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Dotson’s appointment on July 7, 2023. Previously, he served as an attorney in the Kent County Office of the Public Defender, an adjunct professor at Cooley Law School, a trial skills trainer for the Michigan Indigent Defense Trial Skills Training Program, and a mediator with the Kent County Friend of the Court.
Following the murder of George Floyd, Dotson undertook the role of managing attorney with the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office in Minneapolis for a two-year period before returning to Grand Rapids to serve the 61st District.
