Judge Kelly E. Morton was elected to District Court on November 3, 2020, and took the bench on January 1, 2021.
Education
- J.D, Magna Cum Laude, MSU-Detroit College of Law
- While in law school, Judge Morton served as a Note and Comment Editor for Law Review. Her article “Maki?ng Sense of Michigan’s Land Division Act” was published in the 2000 edition of MSU Law Review. She also served as President of the Women’s Law Caucus.
Experience
- Judge Morton served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Eaton County from 2003 to 2020. She previously served as an Alpena County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (2002 to 2003), where she handled district and circuit court cases. Judge Morton also worked as a law clerk in the 26th Judicial Circuit Court (Alpena County). In February 2018, Judge Morton received her 15-year Prosecution Service Award from the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM).
- Judge Morton served as a team member on Eaton County’s various specialty courts for the last 17 years. She now oversees the Domestic Violence Court.
- Judge Morton taught as an adjunct professor at Alpena Community College (2000 to 2003), teaching Business Law, Political Science, Criminal Justice, Interview and Interrogation, Legal Research and Writing, and Real Property Law.
- Judge Morton served as an officer in the Alpena County Bar Association and the Eaton County Bar Association, including vice-president and president. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Siren Shelter, currently as Secretary. She was the executive director of the Eaton County Child Abuse Prevention Council and past chair of the Eaton County Domestic and Sexual Violence Coordinating Committee.
- Judge Morton served as a member of the Eaton County Human Trafficking Task Force
- Judge Morton served on faculty for Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), training law enforcement on enhanced domestic investigations. She also presented for PAAM's sexual assault training on the rape shield act. Judge Morton conducted training for local organizations and businesses on domestic violence in the work place.
- Judge Morton presented legal update training annually to Eaton County law enforcement agencies.