Teresa Patton

Service in the Legal Community – 24 years Experience 

 Highlighting service to 34th District Court and communities

~EXPERIENCE~

Practicing Attorney.   Administrator

• Teresa began her service at 34^th District Court over 20 years ago as the Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney assigned to the court to cover Preliminary Exams for felonies and prosecution of state criminal misdemeanors.  She remained at 34^th DC until she resigned from the Prosecutor’s Office to start her own law firm in 2010.   During her tenure at the prosecutor’s office, she served in the general trials division, warrants and district courts, the major drug unit and the felony non-support division. 

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, 2000-2010

• Teresa became a private attorney for the Patton Law Group in 2010.  During this time she practiced criminal and family law.  She was also one of the court appointed attorneys representing indigent defendants at 34^th District Court until their program shifted to a single court appointed attorney system.  She also served as an appointed attorneys on felony cases at Wayne County’s 3^rd Circuit Court.

Private Attorney, Patton Law Group, PLLC, 2010-2021

• The MIDC Act changed how indigent defense in Michigan was rendered, to include separating courts from attorney appointments and pay, so in 2019, with the support of 34^th District Court, the city of Romulus contracted with Teresa to run the indigent defense/appointed attorney program at 34^th District Court.  The program’s objective was to provide quality representation to defendants who could not afford to hire counsel.  She worked alongside a representative from the Romulus Police Department to ensure program compliance with the new MIDC Standards.

Managed Assigned Counsel Coordinator, City of Romulus/34th District Court, Romulus, MI, 2019-2021.

• In 2021, the municipalities of twenty of Wayne County’s third class district courts, including the City of Romulus/34^th DC, formed a regional office to administer the indigent defense/appointed attorney programs for each court.  Teresa was hired as the director of the new regional office where she was  tasked with hiring of all staff as well as developing policies and processes for the 20 individually tailored indigent defense programs.  Under Teresa’s direction, the regional office has developed collaborative, working relationships with each community, court (judges, court administrators and court staff) and other stakeholders to serve the indigent defense population in district courts.  This is a work of service Teresa is very proud of.  As a part of this ministration, she is honored to serve the 34^th District Court and its communities along with the other nineteen courts participating in the regional office.

Additional Legal Service

Prior to becoming a licensed attorney, Teresa worked in the legal community gaining valuable insight into the workings of courts and law practice.  She served as a court clerk and probation clerk in district courts, and during law school she worked as a law clerk at a major Detroit law firm and later at a small practitioner’s firm.