Brian K. Zahra

Brian K. Zahra
106th Associate Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office January 15, 2011
Nominated by	Rick Snyder
Preceded by	Maura Corrigan
Personal details
Education	Divine Child High School
Alma mater	Wayne State University (B.A.) University of Detroit (J.D.)

Brian K. Zahra is a Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. He was appointed to fill a vacancy by Governor Rick Snyder in 2011. Zahra won his bid for reelection in 2014 to retain his seat for eight more years, per the Michigan Constitution.

Zahra attended Wayne State University where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity (PIKE) and worked his way through college by opening a health and beauty-aid store in downtown Detroit, which he expanded into a full grocery store. He subsequently graduated from the University of Detroit School of Law with honors in 1987. While in law school he was a member of the Law Review and served as Articles Editor of the State Bar of Michigan’s Corporation and Finance Business Law Journal. He is of Maltese descent.

Zahra currently resides in Northville Township with his wife Suzanne and their two children.

Upon graduating law school, Zahra clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Zatkoff until he joined the law firm of Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van Dusen & Freeman in 1989. He also served as a Wayne County Circuit Court judge from 1994-98 and was appointed to the Michigan Court of Appeals by Republican Governor John Engler in 1999. In 2004, he was nominated and ran for the Michigan Supreme Court. While losing that bid for election, he remained on the Court of Appeals. Zahra then went on to serve as Chief Judge Pro Tem for the Court of Appeals from December 2005 to January 2007.

On January 11, 2011, Republican Governor Rick Snyder appointed Zahra to replace Maura Corrigan, who was in turn appointed to head the Michigan Department of Human Services. Governor Snyder's appointment of Zahra maintained the Republican nominees' 4-3 majority.

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