The Honorable Michelle Friedman Appel

Hon. Michelle Friedman Appel is a judge for the Forty-Fifth District Court of Michigan in Oakland County. She was elected to the bench in 2002.

During her judicial tenure, Friedman Appel has served as Chief Judge of the Forty-Fifth District Court. She is credited with establishing and supporting several specialty courts, including the Veterans Treatment Court and the Mental Health Treatment Court.

Prior to her election, Friedman Appel was the Oakland County Commissioner for the cities of Oak Park, Huntington Woods, Pleasant Ridge, and the Charter Township of Royal Oak (1999 to 2002). She also spent over twenty years working as a private practice attorney.

Friedman Appel received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. She went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Detroit, Mercy School of Law.

She was admitted to practice in Michigan in 1981.

Friedman Appel has served as president of the Michigan Judges Association and the State Bar of Michigan Judicial Council and a member of the County District Judges Association.

She was also appointed by the Governor to represent the Michigan Court Judges on the Trial Court Funding Commission and sat on the Michigan District Judges Association Legislative and Judicial Response Committee.

Friedman Appel has been a frequent lecturer for the Michigan Judicial Institute on various topics, including presiding over cases with self-represented litigants and pre-trial-related issues.

From a civic standpoint, she has been involved with the Oak Park Business Education Alliance Board of Directors, the Oak Park School District (Juinor Achievement volunteer), the Tri-Community Coalition, and the NAACP (South Oakland Chapter).

She received the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Champion of Justice Award from the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan in 2022.

Friedman Appel grew up in Oak Park, Michigan. Her husband, Jeffrey, is a private practice attorney, and her late father, the Hon. Benjamin Friedman, sat as a judge of the Forty-Fifth District Court. She and her husband reside in Huntington Woods.