S. Kerene Moore,
Judge
S. Kerene Moore was elected to the 15th Judicial District Court for a six-year term on November 5, 2024. Her term began on January 2, 2025. She presides over general civil provider cases, drunk driving cases, and the specialized Sobriety Court docket.
Judge Moore received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in 2002. She attended the University of Michigan Law School and was awarded her Juris Doctor degree in 2005.
Prior to her election to the 15th District Court, she served as the Director of Conviction Integrity and Expungement at the Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and as a judicial attorney and juvenile referee in the Washtenaw County Circuit Court. She started her legal career as an attorney for the Legal Services of South Central Michigan where she represented individuals who could not afford an attorney for over 12 years. In 2019, Judge Moore transitioned to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, where she served as an administrative law examiner.
Judge Moore has previously served on the Ann Arbor District Library Board of Trustees (2018-2022), as well as the Ann Arbor Human Rights Commission (2016-2019). She has also served on the boards of multiple nonprofit organizations, including the Neutral Zone, Jim Toy Community Center, and Equality Michigan. In 2014, Judge Moore also founded Outreach, an award-winning pro bono project facilitated by the Outlaws at the University of Michigan Law School.
Judge Moore is a member of the Michigan District Judges Association, Association of Black Judges of Michigan, International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, State Bar of Michigan LGBTQ+ Law Section, Washtenaw County Bar Association, Vanzetti Hamilton Bar Association, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, and the Ann Arbor NAACP. She serves on the State Bar of Michigan's Character and Fitness Committee for District G, is active on the editorial boards of multiple legal journals, and has 10 publications.
Miriam A. Perry,
Chief Judge Pro Tempore
Miriam A. Perry was appointed to the 15th Judicial District Court bench by Governor Gretchen Whitmer on December 16, 2020. She presides over criminal and traffic cases.
Judge Perry received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1993 from Spelman College. She attended the University of Michigan Law School and was awarded her Juris Doctor degree in 1998.
Prior to her appointment, she served as a clinical fellow at the University of Michigan of Veterans Legal Clinic. Judge Perry was an assistant public defender for the Washtenaw County Public Defender's Office for over 14 years.
From 2001 to 2006, she worked as a judicial attorney at the Third Circuit Court of Michigan and then briefly as a law clerk at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. After law school, she participated in the Japanese Exchange in Teaching program in Japan for two years.
Judge Perry is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Washtenaw County Bar Association, Michigan District Judges Association, Association of Black Judges of Michigan, American Judges Association, Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, NAACP, Ann Arbor Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the Kiwanis Club.
Karen Quinlan Valvo,
Chief Judge
Karen Quinlan Valvo was appointed to the 15th Judicial District Court bench by Governor Rick Snyder on January 5, 2016. She was then elected to a term which ends on December 31, 2026. She presides over misdemeanor criminal, traffic, landlord-tenant cases and the specialized Mental Health and Veterans Treatment Court dockets.
Judge Valvo received her Bachelor of Science in Public Law and Government in 1993 from Eastern Michigan University. She was awarded her Juris Doctor degree in 1997 from The University of Toledo College of Law.
She has served as a board member for several community organizations. She has served on the Advisory Board and Governance Committee for the Ypsilanti Area Community Foundation and on the Board of Directors for Washtenaw 100. She served on the Board of Regents at Eastern Michigan University from 2001-2006. She was elected to a two-year term as Commissioner on the City of Ypsilanti Charter Commission in November 2010.
Judge Quinlan Valvo was appointed by the Supreme Court to three two-year terms (2001-2007) on the Attorney Grievance Commission. She served on the Board of the Washtenaw County Bar Association for ten years (past President).
Judge Valvo is a member of the American Judges Association, the State Bar of Michigan, the Washtenaw County Bar Association, the Women Lawyer's Association-Washtenaw County, is President-elect of the Michigan District Judges Association, and is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation.
Tamara A. Garwood,
Magistrate
Tamara Garwood was appointed to the 15th Judicial District Court bench by Chief Judge Joseph F. Burke in May 2016.
Magistrate Garwood obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 1995 and a Juris Doctor degree from the Detroit College of Law in 1999.
Prior to her appointment, she had been in private practice for 17 years. Magistrate Garwood has regularly served as a Mediator, Arbitrator, and Guardian ad Litem.
Magistrate Garwood has been a contributor for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education. She is also a volunteer with several community organizations.
Magistrate Garwood is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Washtenaw County Bar Association. Magistrate Garwood has been admitted to practice law in the Supreme Court of the United States, as well as Federal District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
Magistrate Garwood is the Vice President of the Michigan Association of District Court Magistrates and an instructor for the Michigan Judicial Institute. She is on the Board of Directors for the Washtenaw County EMU Legal Resource Center. She also sits on the State Bar of Michigan Unauthorized Practice of Law Standing Committee. She has been a committee member for the State Bar of Michigan District G Committee for Character and Fitness and has served on the Board of the Washtenaw County Bar Association and has held various positions with the Association.
