--- title: "Amanda H. Sterkenburg | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/amanda-h-sterkenburg-mi-chief-judge-62b-district-court" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-07-26" --- # Amanda H. Sterkenburg 62B District Court · Chief Judge ## Profile - Court: 62B District Court - State: Michigan - Role: Chief Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-26 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### videoconferencing Scope: statewide Michigan courts may determine the manner and extent of videoconferencing technology, subject to participant requests and suitability factors under MCR 2.407. Evidence excerpt: courts may determine the manner and extent of the use of videoconferencing technology and may require participants to attend court proceedings by videoconferencing technology [Michigan Court Rule 2.407, Videoconferencing](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-2-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2.htm?rhtocid=_2) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### remote access notice Scope: statewide If a Michigan proceeding will be held by videoconferencing technology, the court must provide reasonable notice of how to access it. Evidence excerpt: If a proceeding will be held using videoconferencing technology, the court must provide reasonable notice of the way(s) to access that proceeding. [Michigan Court Rule 2.407, Videoconferencing](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-2-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2.htm?rhtocid=_2) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### recording and broadcasting Scope: statewide Michigan prohibits photography, audio or video recording, broadcasting, or live streaming in a courtroom unless allowed by the presiding judge, subject to the separate media-coverage order. Evidence excerpt: In a courtroom, no one may use a portable electronic device to take photographs or for audio or video recording, broadcasting, or live streaming unless that use is specifically allowed by the Judge presiding over that courtroom. [Michigan Court Rule 8.115, Courthouse Decorum and Portable Electronic Devices](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-8-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8.htm?rhtocid=_25) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### device use Scope: statewide Michigan allows courtroom use of portable electronic devices for information retrieval, storage, internet access, and messaging, but requires silence and bars calls or other audible functions without court permission. Evidence excerpt: Attorneys, parties, and members of the public may use a portable electronic device in a courtroom to retrieve or to store information (including notetaking), to access the Internet, and to send and receive text messages or information. [Michigan Court Rule 8.115, Courthouse Decorum and Portable Electronic Devices](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-8-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8.htm?rhtocid=_25) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/api/directory/county/41) - [Official roster](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/api/directory/county/41) - [Michigan Courts official judicial roster](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/api/directory/county/41) - [Michigan Court Rule 2.407, Videoconferencing](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-2-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2.htm?rhtocid=_2) - [Michigan Court Rule 8.115, Courthouse Decorum and Portable Electronic Devices](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-8-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8.htm?rhtocid=_25) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/amanda-h-sterkenburg-mi-chief-judge-62b-district-court", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/amanda-h-sterkenburg-mi-chief-judge-62b-district-court", "name": "Amanda H. Sterkenburg | KnowJudges", "description": "Amanda H. Sterkenburg, 62B District Court. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-07-26", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/amanda-h-sterkenburg-mi-chief-judge-62b-district-court#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/amanda-h-sterkenburg-mi-chief-judge-62b-district-court#judge", "name": "Amanda H. 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Sterkenburg", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/amanda-h-sterkenburg-mi-chief-judge-62b-district-court" } ] } ] } ``` ## Biography ### Professional career - Nonpartisan candidate for re‐election as Judge of the 62‐B District Court, with the general election scheduled for November 3, 2026 - The Chief Judge of Michigan’s 62‐B District Court in Kentwood, serving a six‐year term that began January 1, 2021, and is running for re‐election in the November 3, 2026 general election ### Education ### Additional information - Before becoming a judge, Sterkenburg practiced law as a solo attorney - representing criminal and civil defendants, landlords, tenants, and other litigants. - As Chief Judge, she leads a team of nearly 25 court personnel and oversees court operations - She graduated cum laude from Franklin College and Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. - She has also served in various local circuit and district courts - Her experience includes successful jury trials on assault, theft, and retail fraud, plus over 90 hours of mediation training. - Sterkenburg presides over the 62‐B District Court, which handles criminal cases (including OUI, domestic violence, and retail fraud under $1,000), civil matters, legal appeals, weddings, and community legal services. - Sterkenburg is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Bar Association, and the Michigan District Judges Association Kentwood, MI ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Michigan Court Rule 8.115, Courthouse Decorum and Portable Electronic Devices](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-2f4be1384a246c5cc0b6bc97) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-8-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8.htm?rhtocid=_25). Collected 2026-07-26.