--- title: "Shelia R. Johnson | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/shelia-r-johnson-mi-chief-judge-46th-district-court" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-07-26" --- # Shelia R. Johnson 46th District Court · Chief Judge ## Profile - Court: 46th 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/63) - [Official roster](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/api/directory/county/63) - [Michigan Courts official judicial roster](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/api/directory/county/63) - [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/shelia-r-johnson-mi-chief-judge-46th-district-court", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/shelia-r-johnson-mi-chief-judge-46th-district-court", "name": "Shelia R. Johnson | KnowJudges", "description": "Shelia R. Johnson, 46th 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/shelia-r-johnson-mi-chief-judge-46th-district-court#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/shelia-r-johnson-mi-chief-judge-46th-district-court#judge", "name": "Shelia R. Johnson", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/shelia-r-johnson-mi-chief-judge-46th-district-court", "jobTitle": "Chief Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "46th District Court" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.courts.michigan.gov/api/directory/county/63" ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Michigan", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/michigan" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Shelia R. Johnson", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/shelia-r-johnson-mi-chief-judge-46th-district-court" } ] } ] } ``` ## Biography ### Professional career - Also a 2012 Democratic Party nominee for Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court - Elected to the 46th District Court in November 2002, becoming the first African American to serve on this court and the first African American female District Judge in Oakland County - She held the role of a law clerk to the Honorable Benjamin F. Gibson of the U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, and practiced law privately in Southfield, specializing in civil and criminal litigation ### Education ### Additional information - She currently serves as Chief Judge and was re-elected for an unopposed third term in 2014. - Judge Johnson has been deeply involved in community service. - She presides over civil cases up to $25,000, misdemeanors, felony preliminary examinations, landlord-tenant disputes, traffic cases, and small claims - She has been a resident of Southfield for over three decades and continues to contribute to both the legal profession and her community - Born in Detroit, Judge Johnson comes from a family with a strong educational legacy, including grandparents who were educators in the segregated South. - She has held the role of President of the Association of Black Judges of Michigan, Past President of the Michigan District Judges Association, and currently serves as Recording Secretary of the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association - She has also held the role of a charter member and board member of the Oakland County Chapter of the National Congress of Black Women and is active in her church, Hope United Methodist Church, where she has chaired ministries and hosted a local cable program - Judge Johnson is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the State Bar of Michigan, Michigan District Judges Association, Association of Black Judges of Michigan, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, and the National Bar Association. - Her election and leadership roles mark significant milestones in the representation of African American women in the judiciary of Oakland County and Michigan at large - She has held leadership roles in the Southern Oakland Chapter of the NAACP, the Southfield Community Foundation Women’s Fund, and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ## 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.