About Susan Hubbard

Born, raised, and educated in Michigan, Judge Susan L. Hubbard is the third generation from her family to serve in public office. She supported herself through college and law school, graduating in 1985 from Wayne State University and in 1991 from the Detroit College of Law, where she served on the dean's list, law review, and as a teacher's assistant for contracts law. Susan began her career in government with the Detroit office of the watchdog agency — the U.S. General Accounting Office, where she audited federal programs and testified before congressional subcommittees on their effectiveness.

First elected to the Dearborn City Council in 1985, Susan worked with neighborhood organizations to protect residents from excess commercial encroachment by enacting new zoning laws. Upon election to the Wayne County Commission in 1989, Susan worked with community groups to improve neighborhoods by sponsoring annual flower plantings and river clean-ups, receiving an award for her efforts from the Michigan Beautiful Commission. She also sponsored the county's first airport noise ordinance that imposed curfews on aircraft and mandated the conversion of outdated aircraft to safer, quieter aircraft. Her efforts culminated in the construction of Detroit Metro Airport's award-winning terminal in 2002. In addition, Susan authored the county's first ethics and contracting ordinances that reduced fraud and waste. The Detroit News at the time referred to her as "the county watchdog in pursuit of efficiency and accountability throughout county government."

After representing litigants in district, probate, and circuit courts for 19 years, Susan was elected to the Wayne County Circuit Court in 2010. Recognizing the need to address the court's overwhelmed pro per litigant caseload, she created the court's first instructional video to help self-represented litigants navigate their way through the system. As a member of the Michigan Judges' Association, Judge Hubbard worked to change court rules to better protect the privacy of family court records. She also volunteers as a mentor to young lawyers through the Detroit Bar Association.