David G. Chardavoyne (born September 10, 1948) is an American attorney, professor, and author of several works on the legal history of Michigan. His first book (published in 2003) '' A Hanging in Detroit: Stephen Gifford Simmons and the Last Execution Under Michigan Law''. The book is a historical account of Stephen G. Simmons, a fifty-year-old tavern keeper and farmer, who, in September 1830, was hanged in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

for murdering his wife, Levana Simmons, in a drunken, jealous rage. Simmons was the second and last person to be executed under

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

law. The book also chronicles Michigan's abolition of capital punishment in 1846, making it the first government in the world to do so. Chardavoyne contributed a chapter on the Territory of Michigan to '' The History of Michigan Law,'' published in 2006. Both books were recognized as Michigan Notable Books. In 2012, Chardavoyne's second full book appeared, a history of eastern Michigan's federal district court from its creation in 1837 to 2010--'' The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan: People, Law and Politics''.Wayne State University Press, 2012, Born in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Chardavoyne lived for six years in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, Switzerland where he attended the

International School of Geneva The International School of Geneva (in French: ''Ecole Internationale de Genève''), also known as "Ecolint" or "The International School", is a private, non-profit international school based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1924 in the servic ...

. Returning to the U.S. in 1964, he graduated from Kennett Square (PA) Consolidated High School (1966) and from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(B.A., English, 1970). After serving in the U.S. Army Airborne in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, he graduated magna cum laude from

Wayne State University Law School Wayne State University Law School (Wayne Law) is the law school of Wayne State University in Detroit. Wayne Law is located in Midtown, Detroit's Cultural Center. Founded in 1927, the law school offers juris doctor (J.D.), master of laws (LL.M.), ...

in 1976. He was a partner in one of Detroit's top law firms for 20 years until he left to teach and write. He now teaches at

and the

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is the law school of the University of Detroit Mercy and is located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan across from the Renaissance Center. Founded in 1912, Detroit Mercy Law is a private Roman Catholic law ...

, and continues to write.

References

American legal scholars American legal writers Living people Michigan lawyers Writers from Michigan 1948 births University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Wayne State University alumni Wayne State University faculty University of Detroit Mercy faculty International School of Geneva alumni {{US-legal-academic-bio-stub