Susan Bieke Neilson

Susan Bieke Neilson (August 27, 1956 - January 25, 2006) was a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and before that, a state trial judge in Michigan.

Background

Neilson was born August 27, 1956 in Ann Arbor and was a lifelong Michigan resident. In 1977, she received an A.B. degree in political science from the University of Michigan Honors College. Neilson received her law degree in 1980 from Wayne State University Law School. Following graduation she practiced products liability, commercial litigation, medical malpractice, and general negligence law with the firm of Dickinson Wright in Detroit, making partner in 1986.

In 1991, Governor John Engler appointed Neilson to the 3rd Judicial Circuit of Michigan, part of the Wayne County Circuit Court, to which she was re-elected in 1992, 1996, and 2002. Neilson's chambers were in Detroit. While on the bench, Neilson co-wrote and co-edited "Michigan Civil Procedure", a two-volume treatise on Michigan civil practice.

Neilson was married with two daughters (Elizabeth, 24 and Mary, 17). She was an active Roman Catholic and was a member of the Detroit Catholic Lawyers Society.

Sixth Circuit nomination and confirmation

Neilson was nominated to the Sixth Circuit by President George W. Bush on November 8, 2001, to replace Judge Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy. She was not confirmed until four years later in 2005. Movement on her nomination was held up by Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, who refused to allow votes for nominees to any federal courts in Michigan over disagreements with Bush. After the Gang of 14 agreement in the Senate in 2005, Neilson finally received a floor vote in the Senate on October 27, 2005. (Fellow Michigan Sixth Circuit nominees Richard Allen Griffin and David McKeague received confirmation votes in June.) She was confirmed unanimously, [http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00277 97-0] , with both Michigan Senators ultimately voting in her favor. Neilson was the seventh judge nominated to the Sixth Circuit by Bush and confirmed by the Senate.

Illness and Death

After being nominated by Bush, Neilson learned that she had myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare blood disorder that eventually required her to undergo a bone marrow transplant in 2003. Though greatly diminished physically, Neilson returned to work and, following confirmation, moved her chambers to the federal courthouse in Detroit. On January 25, 2006, Neilson succumbed to the lingering effects of her illness, and died of lung failure in Detroit at the age of 49. Due to her illness and death, Neilson served for only two months on the Sixth Circuit and never wrote any opinions. According to an order of the court published in January 2006, Neilson participated in a decision to rehear a case en banc. The order does not indicate whether Neilson voted for or against rehearing. Neilson was survived by her husband and two daughters.

External links

* [http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=3094 Federal Judicial Center Profile]
* [http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/lib_hist/Courts/circuit/judges/judges/sbn-bio.html Sixth Circuit Bio]

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