Fourth District Judges

Stephen L. Borrello
Judge Borrello was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2003 and elected in 2004. He served as an attorney and partner with the law firm Gilbert, Smith & Borrello, P.C. in Saginaw, Michigan. Judge Borrello also served as an assistant prosecuting attorney from 1988 to 1990 in Saginaw County. He earned his B.A. from Albion College and his J.D. from the Detroit College of Law.
Term expires January 1, 2013.

Alton T. Davis
Judge Alton Thomas Davis was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Governor Jennifer Granholm on Thursday, July 14, 2005. Prior to his appointment, Judge Davis had served as a visiting judge on the Court of Appeals on several different occasions from 1985 to 1996.

At the time of his appointment, Judge Davis was the Chief Judge of the 46th Judicial Circuit of Michigan, which encompasses Otsego, Crawford, and Kalkaska Counties. He was in his twenty-first year on that bench and seventeenth year as Chief Judge.

Prior to his election to the trial bench, Judge Davis was in private practice for ten years. During that period of time, he also served for four years as Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and then Prosecuting Attorney in Crawford County.

To date, the Judge has been involved in the following professional, public, and civic capacities:

• State Bar of Michigan, November 7, 1974
• Former President of the 46th Circuit Bar Association, 1981 and 1982
• Member, Michigan Trial Lawyers Association
• Chairman, State Bar of Michigan Committee on Criminal Jury Instructions, 1995; 1998
• Chief Judge, 46th Circuit Trial Court Demonstration Project, June 1996 to July 2005
• Member, American Judges Association
• Member, Sigma Nu Phi Fraternity Legal
• Former Chairman, Crawford County Democratic Party, 1980 through March 1984
• Regional Coordinator for Governor James Blanchard during his first campaign
• Trustee, Michigan State Bldg. Authority, by Appointment of Governor James Blanchard
• Member, St. Francis Episcopal Church, Grayling, Michigan
• Trustee, Inland Lakes High School Educational Foundation, 1988 to 1990
• Member, Past President, and Former Director, Rotary International, Grayling, Michigan; Paul Harris Fellow
• Adjunct Instructor, Kirtland Community College, 1987 to 1990
• Member, Fraternal Order of Elks
• Member, Former Director, and Past-President, Crawford County Fair Board, 1984 to 1999
• Member, Rules Committee, Michigan Judges Association
• Member, Michigan Judges Association Executive Board, 1995 to present
• Chairman, Michigan Judges Association Legislative Committee, 1999
• Michigan Judges Association:
  • Treasurer, 1999 to 2000
  • Secretary, 2000 to 2001
  • Vice-President, 2002
  • President-Elect, 2003
  • President, 2004
  • Past-President, 2005
• Member, Chief Justices Council of Chief Judges
• Member, Michigan Joint Judicial Conference
• Michigan Supreme Court Collections Committee, 2004, 2005, 2006
• Staff Participant, New Judicial College, DuBois, Wyoming, 2000 to present
• Chairman, Michigan Court of Appeals Education Committee, 2005 to present
• Board Member, Michigan Judges Retirement Fund by gubernatorial appointment, 2005 to present

Patrick M. Meter
Judge Meter was appointed to the Court in 1999. Previously, he served as a judge of the Saginaw Circuit Court, and he worked as a prosecuting attorney for Saginaw County and as an attorney in private practice. Judge Meter received his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Notre Dame. 
Term expires January 1, 2009.

Peter D. O'Connell
Judge Peter D. O’Connell was elected in 1994 and currently serves on the Michigan Court of Appeals in the new Hall of Justice in Lansing, Michigan. He was a Trial Court Judge for 16 years prior to his election to the Court of Appeals and also served as the Chief Assistant Prosecutor in Isabella County. He holds a Juris Doctorate from Detroit College of Law and was the first trial judge in the State of Michigan to obtain a Masters of Judicial Studies Degree from the University of Nevada-Reno. He has served on the faculty of the Michigan Judicial Institute, the Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, and the National Judicial College. Judge O’Connell has also served as an instructor at New Judge’s School and is an adjunct professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Judge O’Connell has authored articles in the Detroit Law Review, Criminal Practice Law Review, Colleague, Benchmark, Michigan Bar Journal, and the case book entitled Social Science in the Law.

Judge O’Connell has been on the bench since 1979. 
Term expires January 1, 2013.

Donald S. Owens
Judge Owens was appointed to the Court in 1999 and elected in 2000. Previously, he served as judge of the Ingham County Probate Court since 1974. Before that, he was an attorney in private practice in Lansing. Judge Owens received his bachelor's, master's and law degrees from the University of Michigan.
Term expires, January 1, 2011.

Bill Schuette
In January of 2003, Bill Schuette took his oath of office as Judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals. In the November 2002 General Election, Bill was elected to this position and serves as one of 28 appellate judges in Michigan.

Bill Schuette's commitment to public service began in 1984 when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. At the age of 31, he was one of the youngest Congressmen in America. During his three terms in Congress, Schuette served on the House Budget Committee, the House Agriculture Committee and Select Committee on Aging. In 1990, Bill Schuette was Michigan's Republican candidate for the United States Senate.

In January of 1991, Bill was named Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture. As a member of Governor John Engler's cabinet, his policy responsibilities were diverse, ranging from agribusiness export development to environmental stewardship initiatives for production agriculture. When Bill was Director of Agriculture, his wife Cynthia and he created the Michigan Harvest Gathering, a food and fund drive to help feed hungry people throughout Michigan. Joining with the Food Bank Council of Michigan, the Michigan Harvest Gathering has raised more than $4.9 million and 7 million pounds of food for Michigan families over a 15-year period. The Michigan Harvest Gathering has been recognized nationally for its innovative public-private partnership.

In 1994, Bill was elected to the Michigan Senate, representing Michigan's 35th Senate District. During his eight years in the Senate, Bill served on the Judiciary Committee, the Technology and Energy Committee, the Gaming and Casino Oversight Committee and was Chairman of the Economic Development Committee and Chairman of the Reapportionment Committee.

In 2001, Bill was selected by President George W. Bush to be his Personal Representative to Australian-American Friendship Week in Australia.

Bill has been a member of various boards and organizations in his community and throughout Michigan. Currently, Schuette serves as Vice President of the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation and is a trustee of the Elsa U. Pardee Foundation. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Albion College as well as the Visiting Committee of the Gerald R. Ford Institute at Albion College. Bill is also a board member of the Education Freedom Fund and a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.

A native of Midland, Michigan, Bill Schuette graduated cum laude from Georgetown University in 1976, receiving a Bachelor of Science in the Foreign Service. He also studied at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. Bill earned his law degree from the University of San Francisco in 1979.

Schuette and his wife, the former Cynthia Grebe, are the parents of Heidi, born in April of 1993, and Billy, born in July of 1995.
Term expires January 1, 2009.

William C. Whitbeck
Judge Whitbeck was appointed to the Court in 1997 and reelected to six-year terms in 1998 and 2004. Previously, he was director of the Office of State Employer, director of policy for the Public Service Commission, director of the Detroit area office for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, an administrative assistant to Governor George Romney, a legislative analyst for the Department of Commerce, and worked as an attorney in private practice. Chief Judge Whitbeck received his bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and his law degree from the University of Michigan. The Supreme Court appointed Judge Whitbeck as Chief Judge in 2001 for a two-year term. He was reappointed for additional two-year terms as Chief Judge in 2003 and 2005. 
Term expires January 1, 2011.