James Leo Ryan (born November 19, 1932) is an inactive senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Education and career

Born 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 th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, Ryan graduated from Detroit Catholic Central High School. He received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1956. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the University of Detroit in 1992. Ryan served as a law specialist in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and was assigned to the Judge Advocate General and duty with the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. Upon his release from active duty in 1960, he continued to serve in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

and, in 1992, retired from the Naval Reserve as a military judge with the rank of captain. He was in private practice of law in Detroit from 1960 to 1963. He was in private practice of law in Redford, Michigan from 1963 to 1966. He was a justice of the peace in Redford from 1963 to 1966. He was a judge of the circuit court for the Third Judicial Circuit, Michigan from 1966 to 1975. He has been an adjunct professor of law at the University of Detroit since 1974. He was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Michigan The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the state c ...

from 1975 to 1985, having been appointed by Michigan Governor William G. Milliken. He was an adjunct professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

, Michigan from 1979 to 1985.

Federal judicial service

Ryan was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

on September 9, 1985, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated by Judge

George Clifton Edwards Jr. George Clifton Edwards Jr. (August 6, 1914 – April 8, 1995) was a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Education and career Born in Dallas, Texas, E ...

He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on October 16, 1985, and received commission on October 17, 1985. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on January 1, 2000. He took inactive senior status on September 3, 2010.

Teaching career

Ryan has extensive teaching experience. He has served as an adjunct professor of law at Ave Maria School of Law, the University of Detroit School of Law, and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He has lectured on evidence, criminal procedure, and constitutional law at those institutions and at state and federal judicial training sessions in thirty states. He has served as a faculty member of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, and the Appellate Judges Conference of the American Bar Association. Ryan has been awarded four honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

degrees.

Affiliations

Judge Ryan is a

Knight of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. He is also involved with Angels' Place, an organization that provides residential living facilities to developmentally impaired adults.

Family

Ryan was married for fifty years to the Mary Elizabeth Ryan and had four children - Colleen (née Ryan) Hansen, Kathleen A. Ryan, Daniel P. Ryan, and James R. Ryan. He remarried widow Loretta Nagle and their blended families comprise 11 children and more than 41 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

References

External links

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Michigan Supreme Court speeches

Michigan Supreme Court history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, James Leo 1932 births Living people American Roman Catholics Ave Maria School of Law faculty Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit American justices of the peace Knights of Malta Michigan state court judges Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Lawyers from Detroit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan 20th-century American judges University of Detroit Mercy alumni University of Detroit Mercy faculty Detroit Catholic Central High School alumni