Judge Bandstra steps down from Court of Appeals after 16 years
Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Richard A. Bandstra announced today that he will step down from the court as of January 8, 2011.
His resignation will cap 25 years of public service, including 16 years as a Court of Appeals judge and nine years as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives.
Bandstra said that he has enjoyed his tenure on the court. “Working with respected colleagues on important matters of law has to be one of the best opportunities available in all of Michigan government,” he said. “But I recently turned 60 and feel that, if I want to pursue any other career objectives, now is the time to do it.”
Bandstra said his decision “will allow me more time to spend with my family and, perhaps, to explore other opportunities for service either in government or with a non-profit agency.”
The judge said he hopes his tenure on the Court of Appeals will be remembered for his “defense of the proposition that the proper role of the judiciary is to interpret the law, not impose one’s personal choices about policy. That is a judge’s role in fidelity to the Constitution.”
Bandstra, who was first elected to the Court of Appeals in 1994, served as Chief Judge Pro Tem of that court from 1997-1999. The Michigan Supreme Court appointed him to serve as Court of Appeals Chief Judge from 1999-2001.
He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1984 and represented the 75th District, comprising the eastern half of Grand Rapids, from 1985-1994. Bandstra was floor leader from 1993-1994. He also served as vice-chair of the House Judiciary Committee from 1987-1994. His legislative achievements include the 1988 Community Dispute Resolution Act, which established a statewide program for mediation centers throughout Michigan. In 1992, he chaired the Task Force on Civil Justice Reform for the American Legislative Council. He also served on the 21st Century Commission on the Courts, which proposed reforms of Michigan’s trial and appellate court system, in 1990.
A graduate of Calvin College, Bandstra earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School where he was chosen to serve as associate editor of the school’s law review on the basis of academic performance. Following his graduation from law school in 1980, he joined the Grand Rapids law firm of Warner, Norcross & Judd, where his practice included litigation.His professional activities include the American Bar Association’s Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative program, in which he worked with the Slovak Ministry of Justice, the Slovak Judges Association, and other groups on legislation to safeguard judicial independence and the rule of law in the new Slovak Republic in 1988 and 1989.
Bandstra and his wife, Cynthia, reside in Grand Rapids.
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