This Giving Tuesday, help ensure voters have the information they need to make confident, informed decisions. Donate now!
Richard Enslen
Richard Alan Enslen was an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. He joined the court in 1979 after being nominated by President Jimmy Carter. He served on senior status until he passed away on February 17, 2015.[1]
Education
A native of Kalamazoo, Enslen graduated from Wayne State law School in 1958. Enslen served in the US Air Force from 1951 to 1954 before entering Law School at Wayne State.[2]
Professional career
Enslen has a had a diverse career path leading towards his current position in the federal judiciary. First, he became an Assistant trust officer for the First National Bank & Trust Company in Kalamazoo in 1958 before serving seven years in Private practice from 1958 to 1965. In 1965, he became the Director for the Costa Rica Division of the US Peace Corps from 1965 to 1968 before returning back to Michigan as a Municipal Judge for the City of Kalamazoo from 1968 to 1969. In 1969, he became a Michigan District Court Judge before serving nine more years of private practice from 1970 to 1979.[2]
Judicial career
Western District of Michigan
On the recommendation of Senator William Riegle, Jr., Enslen was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on November 30, 1979, to a seat vacated by Noel Peter Fox; Confirmed by the Senate on December 20, 1979, and received commission on December 21, 1979. Served as chief judge from 1995 to 2001. Assumed senior status on September 1, 2005.[2]
See also
External links
- Enslen Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Noel Fox |
Western District of Michigan 1979–2005 Seat #2T |
Succeeded by: Paul Maloney
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 |
Ballantine • Bownes • Boyle • Bua • Carr • Clark • Cowan • Daly • Filippine • Higginbotham • Hoeveler • Hug • Johnstone • Kane • Keith • Leval • Logan • MacLaughlin • McKay • Melton • Merritt • Murphy • Nickerson • Oberdorfer • Roszkowski • Roy • Rubin • Sifton • Tang • Vance • Veron | ||
| 1978 |
Arnold • Baker • Boyle • Burns • Campos • Claiborne • Collins • Cook • Devine • Diamond • Duplantier • Edenfield • Friedman • Gonzalez • Greene • Jenkins • Lowe • Mazzone • McMillian • O'Brien • Pfaelzer • Phillips • Pollak • Sand • Shapiro • Simmons • Smith • Sweet • Tanner • Wiseman • Ziegler | ||
| 1979 |
Ackerman • Alarcon • Anderson • Arceneaux • Arnold • Aspen • Beatty • Beer • Belew • Bertelsman • Bilby • N. Black • S. Black • Bloch • Bowen • Brett • Brooks • Brown • Buchmeyer • Bunton • Burciaga • Cabranes • Carr • Carrigan • Castagna • Cire • Clark • Cohn • Conaboy • Cordova • Crabb • Cudahy • Davis • DeAnda • Debevoise • Edwards • Eginton • Ellison • Enslen • O. Evans • T. Evans • Farris • Ferguson • Fletcher • Frye • Garcia • Garza • B. Gibson • H. Gibson • Gierbolini-Ortiz • Giles • Gilliam • Green • Hall • Hastings • Hatchett • Hatfield • Hatter • Hawkins • Henderson • Higby • Hillman • Houck • Howard • Hudspeth • Hungate • F. Johnson • S. Johnson • N. Jones • S. Jones • Karlton • Kazen • Kearse • Keeton • Kehoe • Kennedy • Kidd • King • Kravitch • Loughlin • Martin • McCurn • McDonald • McNaught • McNichols • Mikva • Mitchell • Moran • Murnaghan • Murphy • D. Nelson • D.W. Nelson • Newblatt • Newman • Overton • Paine • Panner • J. Parker • R. Parker • Penn • Perez-Gimenez • Perry • Politz • Poole • Porter • Pregerson • Price • Rambo • Ramirez • Reavley • Redden • E. Reed • S. Reed • Reinhardt • Renner • Robinson • Rothstein • Sachs • Saffels • Sanders • Sarokin • Schroeder • Schwartz • Seay • Senter • Seymour • Shannon • Shaw • Shoob • Skopil • Sloviter • Sofaer • Spellman • Sprouse • Staker • Tate • Taylor • Thompson • Tidwell • Unthank • Vietor • Vining • Wald • Ward • Weinshienk • West • Wicker • Williams • Winder • Woods • Wright • Zobel | ||
| 1980 |
Aguilar • Aldrich • Anderson • Boochever • Breyer • Britt • Cahill • Canby • Carroll • Cerezo • Clemon • S. Ervin • R. Erwin • Getzendanner • Gilmore • Ginsburg • Haltom • Hardy • Henderson • Hobbs • Holschuh • Horton • Howard • Johnson • Keep • Kelly • Kenyon • Kocoras • Marquez • Marshall • Michael • Nixon • Norris • Patel • Polozola • Propst • Quackenbush • Ramsey • Rice • Shadur • Spiegel • Tashima • Thompson • Vela • White • Williams | ||
| 1981 | |||
State of Michigan Lansing (capital) | |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |