Thomas Giles Kavanagh (August 14, 1917 – February 20, 1997) was an American jurist. Born in

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Metropol ...

, Kavanagh graduated from the University of Detroit High School. He then received his bachelor's degree from

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in 1938 and his law degree from

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 ...

in 1943. In 1964, Kavanagh was elected to the

Michigan Court of Appeals The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reported both in an official publication of ...

. From 1969 until 1985, Kavanagh served on the

Michigan Supreme Court 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 ...

and was chief justice from 1975 to 1979. Kavanagh was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. He died in

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236. Royal Oak is located along th ...

of lung cancer.'Deaths-Thomas Giles Kavanagh,' The Daily Globe (Ironwood, Michigan), February 22, 1997, pg. 13A

Notes

1917 births 1997 deaths Politicians from Bay City, Michigan University of Notre Dame alumni University of Detroit Mercy alumni Michigan Democrats Michigan Court of Appeals judges Chief Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Deaths from cancer in Michigan Deaths from lung cancer 20th-century American judges Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court {{Michigan-politician-stub