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Shannon Nicol Walker

Nonpartisan · MI · Judge, Criminal Division, Wayne County Third Judicial Circuit Court

Official website

Shannon Nicol Walker is a judge in the Criminal Division of Michigan's Third Judicial Circuit Court in Wayne County. She joined the court on January 1, 2015, after being elected in 2014. Walker began her legal career as a public defender with Legal Aid and Defender Association and later served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, including assignments in the Child and Family Abuse Unit and Special Operations and Community Prosecution. She earned a bachelor's degree from Wilberforce University in 1994 and a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2002.

Track record

Public Safety and Crime Control

· 1 record

  • Shannon Nicol Walker sentenced William Helmer to 40 to 80 years in prison for setting a woman on fire, citing his history of violence and the harm shown at trial.

    November 29, 2023For

    Source: clickondetroit.com · researched July 13, 2026

Civil Rights

· 7 records

  • Shannon Nicol Walker vacated Kenneth Bullock's convictions and dismissed all charges under a stipulated order, leading to his release from prison.

    May 28, 2025For

    Source: waynecountymi.gov · researched July 13, 2026

  • Shannon Nicol Walker granted Eron Shelman a new trial based on newly presented witness evidence that directly impeached the prosecution's principal witness; the Michigan Court of Appeals later affirmed the ruling.

    January 26, 2023For

    Source: exonerationregistry.org · researched July 13, 2026

  • Shannon Nicol Walker signed an order vacating Larry D. Smith's murder conviction and dismissing all charges after a Conviction Integrity Unit review found an unreliable informant, weak identification evidence, and no conclusive forensic link.

    February 4, 2021For

    Source: waynecountymi.gov · researched July 13, 2026

  • Shannon Nicol Walker vacated Mark Craighead's manslaughter conviction and ordered a new trial after finding that newly documented misconduct by the detective who obtained his confession could have changed the verdict; the Court of Appeals later affirmed.

    February 4, 2021For

    Source: exonerationregistry.org · researched July 13, 2026

  • Shannon Nicol Walker dismissed murder charges against Kevin Harrington and George Clark based on newly discovered evidence after a Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit investigation.

    April 21, 2020For

    Source: utility.waynecountymi.gov · researched July 13, 2026

  • Shannon Nicol Walker granted a joint motion to vacate Darrell Siggers's murder conviction after a prosecution expert recanted trial testimony linking bullets from the crime to a gun connected to Siggers.

    July 19, 2018For

    Source: exonerationregistry.org · researched July 13, 2026

  • Shannon Nicol Walker granted LaMarr Monson a new trial after reviewing evidence that his confession may have been coerced and that another person may have killed the victim; prosecutors later dismissed the murder charge.

    January 30, 2017For

    Source: utility.waynecountymi.gov · researched July 13, 2026

General

· 1 record

  • Shannon Nicol Walker began serving in the Criminal Division of Michigan's Third Judicial Circuit Court on January 1, 2015 after her November 2014 election.

    January 1, 2015

    Source: 3rdcc.org · researched July 13, 2026

Legal Competence

· 2 records

  • The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a criminal-sexual-conduct conviction from a trial presided over by Shannon Nicol Walker, rejecting challenges involving substitute-judge jury selection, counsel preparedness, and denial of a mistrial.

    May 13, 2021For

    Source: law.justia.com · researched July 13, 2026

  • In People v. Covington, the Michigan Court of Appeals vacated Shannon Nicol Walker's order denying resentencing because, as a successor judge, she had not let the defendant appear and be heard before deciding; the court noted that she had complied with the earlier remand instructions and the Crosby procedure then specified.

    September 19, 2019Against

    Source: law.justia.com · researched July 13, 2026

Elections

Profile last researched July 13, 2026.