Judge Sima Patel Breaks Barriers on MI Court of Appeals

Flanked by Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack, Michigan Court of Appeals Chief Judge Elizabeth Gleicher and her father and mother, Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Sima Patel, was officially sworn in as the state’s first woman of South Asian descent on the appeals court.

Judge Patel’s investiture ceremony came four months after she was appointed to the position by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to replace the late Judge Jonathan Tukel. Whitmer referred to Patel at the time as having an “essential perspective and impressive record of experience.”

During the ceremony on June 6 at the Detroit Institute of the Arts, Judge Patel was officially sworn in by Chief Justice McCormack. Chief Judge Gleicher delivered opening and closing remarks at the special ceremony.

But essential to Judge Patel, was her desire to reflect her culture in the ceremony and honor her family. Her father, Girish Patel, offered a traditional Hindu Ganesh prayer during the invocation. At the same time, her mother, Vibha, held a 100-year-old copy of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the holy scriptures of Hinduism, handed down by Judge Patel’s grandparents. Sisters Dr. Swati Patel and Dr. Sangeeta Patel, as well as brother Dr. Shyam Patel, took part in the ceremony by presenting her robe and gavel.

Judge Patel has 17 years of experience in appellate law, beginning with her work as a law clerk for Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth A. Weaver, a Republican, and later for Justice Diane Hathaway, a Democrat. She then entered private practice, writing hundreds of appellate briefs and was the head of the appellate department at Fieger Law, achieving many civil rights victories for clients.

Judge Patel is currently running for the remainder of her 4-year term in the non-partisan position to continue her work in the Court of Appeals. Although Judge Patel sits on cases from all over Michigan, her voting district is the Second District, which covers Oakland, Macomb, and Genesee Counties.

She is currently running to retain her position on the court.

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