June 17, 2011
LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Rick Snyder today announced appointments to the Michigan Appellate Defender Commission.
The commission is responsible for providing a system of indigent appellate defense services and developing standards.
Thomas W. Cranmer and Thomas G. McNeil are appointed and Judith Gracey and John Nussbaumer are reappointed.
"These individuals bring tremendous skill and experience that will help ensure we have a fundamentally sound and effective system of public defenders," Snyder said.
Cranmer, of West Bloomfield, is a principal and managing director of Miller, Canfield, Parrock and Stone, a law firm practicing both criminal and civil litigation. He is a former assistant prosecuting attorney in Oakland County and a former assistant U.S. attorney. Cranmer is also a past president of the State Bar of Michigan, as well as a past president of the Oakland County Bar Foundation. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Cranmer earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Ohio Northern University. He will represent the Michigan Supreme Court and replaces Donald Martin.
McNeil, of Grosse Pointe, is the practice department manager of commercial litigation and alternate dispute resolution at the Detroit offices of Dickinson Wright PLLC. He has represented defendants in more than 30 securities and ERISA class actions. McNeil earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and a law degree from the University of Virginia. He will represent the Michigan Supreme Court and replaces Ernest Essad.
Gracey, of West Bloomfield, has spent more than 19 years as a sole practitioner in Michigan. She served part-time as a magistrate for the 48th District Court for more than eight years. Gracey is a former assistant city attorney for the City of Flint and adjunct professor at Oakland University and Madonna University. Gracey earned a bachelor's degree from Brown University and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati. She will represent the State Bar of Michigan.
Nussbaumer, of Clarkston, is a professor and associate dean of the Auburn Hills Campus of Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Before joining Cooley, he served as law clerk to former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Mary S. Coleman. Nussbaumer currently serves as a Michigan Supreme Court appointee to the Michigan Criminal Procedural Rules Committee. He earned a bachelor's degree from Denison University and a law degree from the University of Michigan. He will represent the State Bar of Michigan.
Appointees will serve four-year terms expiring May 24, 2015, and are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
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