Who Is Shalina D Kumar? All Set To Be The First South Asian Federal Judge in Michigan

Shalina D Kumar: On Wednesday June 30, the White House announced that US President Joe Biden has nominated Shalina D Kumar as a federal judge for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Chief Judge Kumar has been serving on the Oakland Country Sixth Circuit Court since 2007. In January 2018, the Michigan Supreme Court appointed her the Chief Judge of the Circuit court. Besides her duties as a chief judge, Kumar retains a full caseload (that is, the number of cases with which she's concerned at a time) that covers both civil and criminal matters.

5 things to know about judge Shalina D Kumar

1. Biden has nominated Kumar  to fill up the vacancy created by Victoria A. Roberts, who assumed senior status on Feb 24, 2021. The White House revealed that she would be the first South Asian federal judge in Michigan.
2. The judge has served at various posts throughout her years on the bench. She was the presiding judge of the Adult Treatment Court and also the chairperson of the Oakland Country Criminal Assignment Committee. Adding to that, Kumar served as the bench liaison to the Oakland Country Bar Association Circuit Court Committee and was a member of the Michigan State Bar Professionalism Committee. The judge was a member of the Executive Committee of the Michigan Judges' Association.
3. Before taking the bench, Kumar was a civil litigator in private practice from 1997 to 2007. From 2000-2004, she worked as an associate with Sommers, Schwartz, Silver & Schwartz PC. From 2004 to 2007, she held the same position with Weiner & Cox PLC.
4. In terms of education, Shalina D Kumar, completed received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1993. In 1996, she graduated from the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law.
5. On August 20, 2007, former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm appointed Kumar a judge for the Sixth Circuit Court in Oakland Country to fill the vacancy created as a result of Judge Gene Schnelz's retirement. Kumar was then elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2014.