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Posted on Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 5:51 p.m.

Prosecutor Joe Burke appointed to fill judge vacancy in Ann Arbor's 15th District Court

By Ryan J. Stanton

Washtenaw County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Joe Burke is Ann Arbor's newest judge following an appointment today by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.

Snyder chose Burke from a pool of candidates to join the 15th District Court, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Julie Creal.

"Joe Burke has served Washtenaw County as an assistant prosecuting attorney for over 20 years," Snyder said in a statement. "I am confident that he will continue his dedication and hard work for the community in this new role."

Joe_Burke_headshot.jpg

Joe Burke

Burke, of Ann Arbor, began his legal career as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Washtenaw County in 1982.

He then went into private practice in 1986 as a partner at Burke & Rennell PC.

In 1993, he returned to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office as the chief assistant prosecuting attorney, where he has remained ever since.

"It's a happy day for me," Burke said of his appointment today. "I can't say I was expecting it but it was certainly nice to get it. I'm humbled and honored that they chose me because I know they had a very good field of people to choose from."

Court Administrator Keith Zeisloft welcomed the news of Burke's appointment. He said he knows Burke only by reputation.

"I'm gratified that we now have a full bench and I'm looking forward to working with Joe Burke and I'm sure the other judges are, too," Zeisloft said.

Burke is now one of three judges in the 15th District Court. The others are Elizabeth Hines, who is now chief judge, and Christopher Easthope.

"I applaud the governor on his choice," Hines said. "I think Joe will be absolutely excellent. I've know him for more than 20 years, he's an excellent attorney, he's honest, he's hardworking. I just think he'll be absolutely wonderful for the court and the city of Ann Arbor."

Burke will serve the remainder of Creal's term through Jan. 1, 2013. He will need to compete in the November election later this year to stay in office after that.

Creal announced her resignation for health reasons in November, three months after going on indefinite medical leave.

The governor's office declined to release a complete list of those who applied to fill the vacancy. But among those who confirmed they applied, in addition to Burke, are local attorney Tom Bourque, Assistant County Prosecutor Eric Gutenberg, 15th District Court Magistrate Colleen Currie and Brad Darling, a law clerk to a federal magistrate in Detroit.

Hines said there were many excellent candidates, but she can see why Snyder would choose Burke for the position.

"He has a background in civil practice, not just as a prosecutor," she said. "He's straightforward, he listens to people, he can be funny. I think he'll just be an absolutely phenomenal judge."

Burke graduated from Howell High School. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree at Michigan State University and a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

He is married to Marilyn Eisenbraun.

Burke, who will have practiced law for 30 years in May, said it hasn't been determined when his first day on the job will be, but he expects to start in the next two weeks.

"I'm sad to be leaving my colleagues I've been working with for a long time, but I'm excited to be taking on a new endeavor," he said. "I'm very much looking forward to working with Judge Hines and Judge Easthope."

While politics sometimes come into play with judge appointments, Burke said he's confident his personal political leanings weren't a factor in the governor's decision.

"My political leanings were absolutely irrelevant as far as the interview process went," he said. "In the interview with the governor's legal division, it wasn't even discussed. They simply wanted to know about my legal background and experience."

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.

Comments

James Socrates

Thu, Feb 16, 2012 : 10:56 a.m.

This is a good example of why its far better to be a good lawyer and a real gentleman then a democrat or a republican. Congratulations Mr. Burke!

Roadman

Thu, Feb 16, 2012 : 1:17 a.m.

Interesting about this appointment is that Burke's political leanings tilt toward the Democratic Party. According to the Secretary of State campaign finance search engine downloadable at <a href="http://www.michigan.gov" rel='nofollow'>www.michigan.gov</a> Joseph Burke was a heavy donor to Jennifer Granholm's past gubernatorial campaigns. According to County Clerk Larry Kestenbaum's search engine at <a href="http://www.ewashtenaw.gov" rel='nofollow'>www.ewashtenaw.gov</a> Joseph Burke served as a longtime treasurer of Democratic County Prosector Brian Mackie's campaign committee. It shows me that Governor Snyder is willing to reach out to local Democrats in appointments, as he has done previously with former Ann Arbor City Administrator Roger Fraser.

Roadman

Thu, Feb 16, 2012 : 12:37 a.m.

Joseph Burke joins Chris Easthope as a fellow Cooley Law School alumnus on the bench in the 15th District Court. Two of three is not bad. Judge Libby Hines is a U-M alumnus. The bad news for the criminal defense bar is that we now have two former career prosecutors on that district court bench. His civil litigation background helped him though. It was a main selling point when Chris Easthope beat Gutenberg in 2008; Chris had a balanced civil/criminal background and emphasized that Eric Gutenberg's experience was almost completely confined to criminal practice. Libby Hines and Chris Easthope have been good judges and let us hope Burke can be a competent and fair judge.

justcurious

Thu, Feb 16, 2012 : 12:04 a.m.

&quot;While politics sometimes come into play with judge appointments, Burke said he's confident his personal political leanings weren't a factor in the governor's decision. &quot;My political leanings were absolutely irrelevant as far as the interview process went,&quot; he said. &quot;In the interview with the governor's legal division, it wasn't even discussed. They simply wanted to know about my legal background and experience.&quot; Good, I wish him well.

Dog Guy

Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 11:44 p.m.

Six months from now the signs will read &quot;RE-Elect Judge Burke.&quot;

a2roots

Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 11:18 p.m.

Congrats Joe!!!! You are a pretty good guy for a sparty.

Michigan Reader

Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 11:09 p.m.

What is his political persuasion? I know judges are non-partisan, but they interpret the law liberally, conservatively, or somewhere in between. Before I vote for him, I'd want to know.

James Socrates

Thu, Feb 16, 2012 : 10:51 a.m.

I have to say the &quot;hype&quot; over liberal/conservative rulings is very misunderstood. Yes, some judges have more conservative ideals or liberal ideals when it comes to sentencing, but there is little if no political consideration in perhaps 95% of how judges rule. I think this is especially true at the district and circuit court levels as their rulings are not precedent. Having said that, most prosecutors would more likely then not be conservative in their sentencing's but even then, most sentencing's are from plea deals where there is already an agreement between the prosecutors office and the defendant and which the judge almost always upholds.

Roadman

Thu, Feb 16, 2012 : 1:17 a.m.

He is a longtime Democrat.

Michigan Reader

Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 11:12 p.m.

I mean, they interpret the laws that don't already have precedence.

treetowncartel

Wed, Feb 15, 2012 : 11:03 p.m.

C-O-O,L-E-Y, Cooley, Cooley, Cooley high. ooops wrong cooley.