Kyra Harris Bolden (born July 31, 1988)^[1][2][3] is an American judge, politician, and civil litigation attorney. She has served as an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court since January 1, 2023. Bolden was a Democratic member of the Michigan House of Representatives for the 35th district from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2023.

She was a candidate for the Michigan Supreme Court in 2022, but came in third behind incumbents Richard Bernstein and Brian Zahra.^[4] On November 22, 2022, Bolden was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to replace Bridget Mary McCormack.^[5]

Bolden was a civil litigation attorney.^[6] In her bid for re-election in 2020, Bolden faced Democratic primary challenger Shadia Martini. In the primary, Bolden defeated Martini by 20,981 votes. Bolden went on to be re-elected in the 2020 election, defeating Republican challenger Daniela Davis.^[7]

Early life and education

A graduate of Southfield Public Schools, Bolden chose to remain in Michigan for her studies, receiving her bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University and Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.^[8]

Career

While working in Lansing, Bolden advocates for Michiganders as a member of the Judiciary Committee and has focused her work on criminal justice reform, crafting and passing bipartisan legislation to protect survivors of sexual violence. Bolden has passed the “Medically Frail” prison reform package, the revision of the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act, and the “Address Confidentiality for Survivors of Domestic Violence” package.^[9][10]

Michigan Supreme Court

On November 22, 2022, Bolden was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to replace Bridget Mary McCormack.^[5] Bolden is the first Black woman to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court.^[11] Bolden's qualifications for the Supreme Court were that in addition to serving in the legislature for 4 years, she also handled misdemeanor court appointed cases in the 46th District Court sometime between 2014 and 2018.^[12]

Controversies

In 2023, Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard H. Bernstein drew controversy after Bolden hired Pete Martel, who spent fourteen years in prison for armed robbery before attending Wayne State University Law School, as a law clerk.^[13] Bernstein publicly stated that he was "completely disgusted" by Bolden's decision to hire Martel as a law clerk and claimed that he and Justice Bolden "don't share the same values."^[13] He also claimed that Bolden's decision to hire Martel would reflect poorly on the entire court and that it was not "fair to the police and the prosecutors" to have a convicted felon working for the court.^[14] Bolden confirmed that Martel had resigned from his position as a law clerk due to Bernstein's comments and explained that Martel "did not want to be a distraction or in any way divert the court from its important work."^[13] On January 9, 2023 Bernstein issued a statement saying he apologized to Bolden in person at the Hall of Justice and that she accepted his apology.^[15]

Affiliations

Bolden has received several awards, including the 2019 Detroit Association of Women's Clubs, Inc. “Young Women Lifting As We Climb Image Award”, 2019 African American Leadership Awards “Emerging Leader Award”, 2020 Michigan Chronicle 40 Under 40 honoree,^[16] 2021 Legislative Economic Development Champion Award and the 2021 Michigan Credit Union League “Legislator of the Year” award.

Bolden is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association, Wolverine Bar Association, Straker Bar Association, the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, National Congress of Black Women-Oakland County, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and as a member of the Total Living Commission for the City of Southfield.^[17]

Personal life

Bolden lives in her hometown of Southfield with her husband, Dr. Greg Bolden, and daughter Emerson Portia Bolden.^{[citation needed]}