Charlene M. Elder
Nonpartisan · MI · Judge, Wayne County Third Circuit Court
Charlene M. Elder is a judge in the Civil Division of Michigan's Third Judicial Circuit Court in Wayne County. Governor Jennifer Granholm appointed her to the court in December 2005. She previously served as a magistrate in Dearborn's 19th District Court and practiced consumer-protection, commercial-transaction, and general-litigation law. Elder earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from the Detroit College of Law.
Track record
Public Safety and Crime Control
· 1 record
Charlene Elder helped initiate Wayne County's Domestic Violence Prevention Court, which coordinates expanded services for domestic-violence survivors who obtain personal protection orders.
July 1, 2019For
Source: community.icle.org · researched July 13, 2026
Civil Rights
· 2 records
Charlene Elder served as a panelist at the 2022 Images and Perceptions Diversity Conference, whose sessions covered equitable justice, civil liberties, law-enforcement trust, and the social effects of COVID-19.
October 20, 2022For
Source: 3rdcc.org · researched July 13, 2026
Charlene Elder served as an information panelist at a women's resource fair and legal clinic that connected marginalized women and domestic-violence survivors with legal consultations and public services.
December 14, 2019For
Source: michbar.org · researched July 13, 2026
General
· 1 record
After a bench trial in Let's Open Northville v. City of Northville, Charlene Elder issued a decision requiring the city to reopen its downtown streets; the city subsequently appealed.
July 9, 2025
Source: northvillemi.hosted.civiclive.com · researched July 13, 2026
Legal Competence
· 2 records
Charlene Elder joined four other Wayne County Family Division judges in a public bar-association program about virtual family-court practice, personal-protection-order filing changes, and the division's future operations.
September 22, 2020For
Source: members.detroitlawyer.org · researched July 13, 2026
The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed Charlene Elder's custody award to the children's maternal uncle over their surviving father, holding that the uncle had standing to rebut the parental presumption and that the trial court's concerns about the father's fitness were supported by the record.
May 19, 2015For
Source: law.justia.com · researched July 13, 2026
Elections
- 3rd Circuit Judge of Circuit Court - Incumbent - 6 Year Terms · November 3, 2026 · Wayne County, Michigan · incumbent
Profile last researched July 13, 2026.