About Judge Whitbeck
Judge William C. Whitbeck has served with distinction on the Michigan Court of Appeals since Governor Engler appointed him in 1997. Judge Whitbeck was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2004. He will run for re-election in 2010.
In his 12 years on the bench, Judge Whitbeck served six years as Chief Judge and two years as Chief Judge Pro Tem. In private practice for over 20 years, Judge Whitbeck was a partner in the law firms of Honigman Miller, Dykema Gossett, and McLellan, Schlaybaugh & Whitbeck.
Judge Whitbeck also served in the administrations of three Michigan Governors: George Romney, William Milliken, and John Engler. He served on the transition teams of President Ronald Reagan and Governor Engler. Judge Whitbeck served in the U.S. Army Reserves for six years and was honorably discharged in 1972.
Judge Whitbeck was an Assistant to Governor Romney, Special Assistant to Secretary Romney at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Area Director of the Detroit Office of H.U.D. In the Milliken administration, he served as Director of Policy in the Michigan Public Service Commission. He served as Counsel to Governor Engler for Executive Organization and Director of the Office of State Employer.
Judge Whitbeck is a member of the Michigan State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Ingham County Bar Association, the Michigan Judges Association, the Michigan Law Revision Commission, and Scribes. He is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar and ABA Foundations. He is a Past Chairman of the Administrative Law Section of the Michigan State Bar Association. He is a "Master of the Bench" and past President of the American Inns of Court Chapter at the MSU College of Law. He is also a past Chair of the Michigan Historical Commission.
Judge Whitbeck graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1966 and Northwestern University School of Journalism in 1963. Judge Whitbeck and his wife are members of St. Mary Cathedral. They reside in Lansing's capitol district in their historic 1878 home. Judge Whitbeck has written his first legal mystery, To Account for Murder, which will be published in November 2010.
