With the recent news of Sanilac County Sheriff Gary Biniecki announcing his soon to be retirement, another public servant will also take the same route.
Judge Donald A. Teeple, has announced he will not run for re-election. Judge Teeple’s long career in the legal profession has spanned more than 45 years in public and private practice. He was first elected to the Sanilac County Circuit Court bench in 1990, will step down at the end of his current six-year term that expires in December 2020.
Teeple is an attorney admitted to the State Bar of Michigan for over 45 years, and say he plans to continue working in the legal profession as a visiting judge and very possibly as a facilitator to help settle disputes and lawsuits short of trial.
Prior to taking the bench, Teeple, who was raised on a farm in the Minden City area and earned his law degree from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1974, practiced law in Sanilac County for 16 years in association with the late Charles W. Rigney.
Teeple is the sixth judge to preside over the 24th Circuit Court since its inception in 1879; and is the chief judge of all three courts in the county – circuit, district and probate.
After his first election in 1990, he was re-elected in 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2014.
