David M. Lawson is a United States federal judge

United States federal judge

In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....

.

Born in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

, Lawson graduated from Brother Rice High School in 1969. He received a B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in English from the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

 in 1973 and a J.D.

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from Wayne State University Law School

Wayne State University Law School

Wayne State University Law School is located in the City of Detroit’s Cultural Center, and is one of the schools of Wayne State University. It is one of two public law schools in the state of Michigan. The Law School has educated and trained lawyers since 1927, and its 10,000+ alumni serve as...

 in 1976. He was a law clerk

Law clerk

A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...

 for the Hon. James Ryan

James Ryan

James Ryan was an Irish politician. He was elected to the First Dáil at the 1918 general election and, apart from the Third Dáil , held his seat for Wexford until his retirement at the 1965 general election...

, Michigan Supreme Court

Michigan Supreme Court

The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot...

 from 1976 to 1977. He was a Private practice from 1977 to 2000. While in Private practice he worked for the law firms Lawson and Lawson, Liza Mulcahy, and Hill Lewis (which later merged and became the firm Clark Hill). During that time he also served as a Special Assistant Attorney General and Special Prosecutor for the Oakland County

Oakland County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...

 One-Man Grand Jury from 1978 to 1980 and as a Special Prosecuting Attorney for Livingston County

Livingston County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 156,951 people, 55,384 households, and 43,531 families residing in the county. The population density was 276 people per square mile . There were 58,919 housing units at an average density of 104 per square mile...

 from 1991 to 1993.

Lawson is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan is the Federal district court with jurisdiction over of the eastern portion of the state of Michigan. The Court is based in Detroit, with courthouses also located in Ann Arbor, Bay City, Flint, and Port Huron...

. Lawson was nominated by President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 on August 5, 1999, to a seat vacated by Avern Cohn

Avern Cohn

Avern Cohn is a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter effective October 9, 1979....

. He was confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 on May 24, 2000, and received commission on June 2, 2000. From 2000 until 2006 Judge Lawson sat in Bay City, Michigan

Bay City, Michigan

Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...

 as the sole judge in the Northern Division of the Eastern District of Michigan. In October 2006 Judge Lawson moved to the Southern Division into a courtroom recently vacated by Judge Gerald Ellis Rosen

Gerald Ellis Rosen

Gerald Ellis Rosen is an American judge who was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in November 1989 and was invested in March 1990. He is currently the Chief Judge of the U.S...

. Judge Thomas Lamson Ludington

Thomas Lamson Ludington

Thomas Lamson Ludington is a United States federal judge.Born in Midland, Michigan, Ludington received a B.A. from Albion College in 1976 and a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1979. He was in private practice in Michigan from 1980 to 1994...

 then moved into Judge Lawson's courtroom in Bay City.

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