Brian K. Zahra

Brian K. Zahra (born January 9, 1960) is a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. He was appointed to fill a vacancy by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder in 2011. Zahra won his bid for reelection in 2022 to retain his seat for eight more years, per the Michigan Constitution. Personal life Zahra attended Divine Child High School and 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 Mercy 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. Zahara married Alyssa Jones (née Watson, b. c. 1963) in 1987 and divorced her in 1993. Zahra currently resides in Northville Township with his second wife Suzanne and their two children. Career Upon graduating law school, Zahra clerked for Judge Lawrence Zatkoff of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan until he joined the Detroit 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.