Michael L. Rankin (born August 7, 1946) is a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Education and career

Rankin earned his Bachelor of Arts from Lincoln University in 1967 and his

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

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldes ...

in 1970.

D.C. Superior Court

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 ...

nominated Rankin on November 13, 1985, to a 15-year term as an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to the seat vacated by Nicholas S. Nunzio. On December 9, 1985, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a hearing on his nomination. On December 12, 1985, the Committee reported his nomination favorably to the senate floor. On December 16, 1985, the full

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

confirmed his nomination by voice vote. In 2000, and again in 2015, the Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure recommended that he be reinstated for another fifteen year term as judge. He took senior status on August 31, 2019.

Personal life

Rankin is married to fellow D.C. Superior Court judge

Zinora Mitchell-Rankin Zinora M. Mitchell-Rankin (born April 16, 1956) is a senior judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Education and career Mitchell-Rankin earned her Bachelor of Arts from Spelman College in 1976 and her Juris Doctor from Geor ...

and they have four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, Michael L. 1946 births Living people 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Howard University School of Law alumni Judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia Lincoln University (Missouri) alumni Lawyers from Memphis, Tennessee