Kurtis T. Wilder
- wilder@butzel.com
- P 313 983 7491
- F 313 225 7080
- Download vCard >
Former Justice Kurtis T. Wilder is a Shareholder and practices in Butzel Long’s Detroit Office. Justice Wilder concentrates his practice in litigation and appeals.
Justice Wilder was appointed by Governor John Engler as judge of the Washtenaw County Circuit Court in March 1992. In December 1998 Governor Engler elevated Justice Wilder to the Michigan First District Court of Appeals where he served four terms from 1998-2017. On May 9, 2017, Governor Snyder appointed Justice Wilder to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Justice Wilder holds memberships in the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Gamma Rho Boule; Fellows of the Michigan State Bar Foundation; the Federalist Society, Board of Advisors, Lawyers Division-Michigan Chapter; the Association of Black Judges of Michigan; and the Wolverine Bar Association. He has served by appointment of the Michigan Supreme Court as a member of the Model Criminal Jury Instruction Committee, the Family Division Joint Rules Committee, and the Family Court Implementation Task Force. He is a Past President of the Michigan Judges Association and Past Chairman of the State Bar Judicial Conference.
Justice Wilder has been active in many civic and philanthropic endeavors during his career. He is a former vice chair of the State of Michigan Community Corrections Advisory Board, former board chair of the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan and Nonprofit Enterprise at Work, and former board member of The Sphinx Organization, Rotary Club of Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor Symphony, and American Red Cross, Washtenaw County Chapter. Justice Wilder currently serves on the Boards of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The Children’s Foundation, and Interlochen Center for the Arts, and as a member of the Detroit Regional Dollars for Scholars Advisory Board. He was recently elected to the boards of directors of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. He is an Elder and Chancel Choir member at First Presbyterian Church of Plymouth.
Justice Wilder graduated from the University of Michigan with an A.B. degree in Political Science in 1981, and from the University of Michigan Law School with a Juris Doctor degree in 1984.
Services
Education
- University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 1984
- University of Michigan, A.B., 1981
Recognitions
Honorable Harold Hood Award Recipient, presented by the Association of Black Judges of Michigan
2018 Jurist of the Year, Police Officers Association
Significant Sig, Sigma Chi Fraternity International
The Best Lawyers in America, Appellate Practice, 2021
DBusiness Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit, Appellate Law, 2020-2021; Arbitration, 2020-2021
Admissions
Memberships
Fellows of the Michigan State Bar Foundation
Association of Black Judges of Michigan
Federalist Society, Board of Advisors, Lawyers Division-Michigan Chapter
Wolverine Bar Association
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Board of Directors
Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation, Board of Directors
Interlochen Center for the Arts, Board of Directors
State of Michigan Community Corrections Advisory Board, Former Vice Chair
National Kidney Foundation of Michigan and Nonprofit Enterprise at Work, Former Board Chair
The Sphinx Organization, Former Board Member
Rotary Club of Ann Arbor, Former Board Member
Ann Arbor Symphony, Former Board Member
American Red Cross, Washtenaw County Chapter, Former Board Member