About US

Theresa Doss, retired Judge of the 36th District Court for the City of Detroit, is an honor graduate of Ohio University. She graduated from The Ohio State University College of Law in 1964. Her class at The Ohio State University College of Law consisted of only three women, with her being the only black graduate. She was admitted to practice in the courts of Ohio in 1964 and since 1966, has been admitted to practice in Michigan. In 1975, Judge Doss was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. She received a Masters of Arts in history from Wayne State University in 2000.
On January 19, 1976, Governor William G. Milliken appointed her to the Common Pleas Court for the City of Detroit making her the first African- American woman appointed to a judgeship and the second African- American woman to sit on a trial bench in Michigan. She became a 36th District Court Judge upon its creation on September 1, 1981.

She served as Chief Judge of her court and served on the State Judicial Council. In 1990, the Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court selected Judge Doss to serve on the Commission on the Courts in the Twenty First Century. She was elected three times by her peers in statewide elections to the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission. During her last year, she served as its vice-chairperson.

Judge Doss is active in community affairs. She is a life member of the NAACP and the National Council of Negro Women and former member of the boards of directors of the Michigan Metro Girl Scouts Council and the Neighborhood Service Organization. She is active in her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and is an active member of Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church.