Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the University of Michigan Law School in 1984. After law school, he was in private practice with Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith P.C. in Lansing, and Butzel Long P.C. in Detroit.
In March 1992, Governor John Engler appointed Wilder as judge of the
Washtenaw County
Washtenaw County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the population was 372,258. The county seat is Ann Arbor. The county was authorized by legislation in 1822 and organized as a county in 1826.
Washtenaw ...
Circuit Court to complete the six-year term of Ross W. Campbell. In November 1992, Wilder was elected to a full term, and was the first African American judge elected in that county. In December 1998, Governor Engler elevated Wilder to the Michigan First District Court of Appeals. Wilder was elected in 2000, and re-elected in 2004, 2010 and 2016.
On May 9, 2017, Governor Snyder appointed Wilder to the Michigan Supreme Court. Wilder completed his predecessor
Robert P. Young Jr.
Robert P. Young Jr. (born June 13, 1951) is a former justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Young was first appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court in 1999, elected in 2000 and 2002, and again won reelection in 2010 for a term ending in 2019. Jus ...
's term in December 2018.
In November 2018, Wilder ran unsuccessfully for election to a full eight-year term but was defeated by Megan Cavanagh in the election by 54,000 votes out of 3 million cast. His departure left the Court with no sitting African-American justice. After leaving office, he returned to practice law at Butzel Long.
In July 2017, Wilder received the Honorable Harold Hood Award, presented by the Association of Black Judges of Michigan. In October 2018, he was presented the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Integrity Award.
He is a member of the Federalist Society.
Personal life
Wilder lives in
Canton, Michigan
Canton, officially the Charter Township of Canton, is a charter township of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population of 98,659.
Canton Township is Michigan's second most-populated townshi ...