- Judge Shalina Kumar was confirmed by the Senate on December 17th, 2021. She served as a judge on the Oakland County Sixth Circuit Court from 2007 to 2021 and was appointed Chief Judge of the court in 2018. Prior to becoming a judge, Kumar was a civil litigator specializing in medical malpractice and wrongful death cases from 1997 to 2007.
- As a civil litigator, Kumar secured millions of dollars in settlements for clients whose rights were violated by their doctors and lawyers.
- Kumar was first appointed to the Sixth Circuit Court in Oakland County by Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2007 and was then elected to the court in 2008 and re-elected in 2014. She was appointed Chief Judge of the circuit court by the Michigan Supreme Court in January 2018.
- Kumar is the first Indian-American state judge in Michigan’s history.
- Upon confirmation, Kumar became the first federal judge of South Asian descent to ever serve in Michigan.
- Judge Kumar has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including the Michigan Association for Justice Judicial Excellence Award, the Michigan Negligence Law Section Trial Judge of the Year, and the Asian Indian Women’s Association Leadership Award.
- Kumar received her B.A. from the University of Michigan–Dearborn and her J.D. from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
Confirmed