About Mike

EARLY LIFE

• Michael Ian Tinney was the second child born to Michael Tinney Jr. and Jacqueline Tinney. Mike’s family lived in Detroit, where his father was a Detroit Police Officer for over 25 years. It was from his father that Mike learned a sense of duty to neighbor and community. In 1997, they moved to Dearborn, Michigan, where Mike attend elementary and middle school, and graduated from Dearborn High School.

• Mike’s first job was at the age of 12 working as a caddy for a local Dearborn golf course, fostering an already large love of the game of golf, which his father began teaching him when he was 5 years old. He played in various junior golf leagues and, eventually, earned a spot on Dearborn High’s Varsity golf team, competing in team and individual events. Mike also grew up playing baseball (another sport taught to him by his father), eventually becoming a catcher for most of his playing career.

• Mike joined the Kiwanis Educates Youth (K.E.Y.) Club as a way to earn volunteer hours through school. During the summers, he was one of the facilitators for Safety Town, teaching young children different safety aspects of daily life: traffic safety, electrical safety, fire safety, stranger danger, firearm safety, and many more programs. In winter months, he and fellow students were bell ringers for various charities raising money for the needy. Throughout the year, he volunteered at Detroit Soup Kitchens and worked Red Cross Blood Drives put on by Dearborn High.

EDUCATION

• After high school, Mike attended Michigan State University, majoring in both Political Science and History. He graduated a year early because of the AP (Advanced Placement) credits he earned throughout High School and by working hard taking multiple courses in the summer months. At Michigan State, Mike worked at Shaw Hall (dormitory) as a student maintenance crew member and was promoted to Student Supervisor within one semester. He then trained, oversaw, and worked with crews of up to seven other students to ensure that the hall was kept in good working order. Like everything he had done in life up to this point, Mike always had a passion to come together with those in his community to make it a better place for everyone.

• During the summers between academic years at Michigan State, Mike also took several classes at Henry Ford Community College (now Henry Ford College) and worked for an irrigation company based in Waterford, Michigan installing and maintaining water lines, sprinklers, and the equipment needed to run it all in both private and public areas. Mike was no stranger to physical labor and getting his hands dirty when the job demanded it. 

EXPERIENCE

• Aside from the physical labor, Mike also interned for State Senator Judson Gilbert, who represented St. Clair and Lapeer counties. Sen. Gilbert was a mortician by trade and was concerned that the continuing Trust accounts held by cemeteries were vulnerable to be stolen by people who were supposed to maintain them. (see https://www.dbusiness.com/business-features/the-grave-robbers/). He later discovered that his maternal grandfather was buried at one the cemeteries affected by these thefts (Woodmere Cemetery on Fort St. in Detroit), making this a personal matter to him as well. Mike was tasked with conducting a 50 state survey to compare and contrast each state’s laws concerning the subject of continuing trusts for cemeteries and funeral homes. The information gathered was eventually compiled and helped in the creation of what would become Senate Bill 674. This service to the citizens of Michigan, coupled with his father’s service in law enforcement, would lay the groundwork and desire for Mike to see his way to the study and practice of Law that would serve others.

• Taking a year between college and law school, Mike worked for Dearborn Surgical Associates as a file clerk and customer service analyst. He quickly gained the trust of his bosses and was steadily given more responsibilities to see completed, including billing, coding, making appointments, and more. He would maintain this part time job through law school, only leaving to begin studying for the bar exam.

• Mike took and scored well on the Law School Aptitude Test. Thereafter, he applied and was accepted to attend the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. Due to his family’s history of civil service, especially in law enforcement, Mike focused his studies on various Criminal Law and Constitutional Law classes, providing the framework for his eventual service as an Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor. Mike excelled at many of his classes, including one that was taught by then-Attorney/Professor, now Taylor's District Court Judge, Joseph Slaven. It was in the Michigan Bar Exam Strategies Class where Mike initially met Judge Slaven. This class was a high intensity crash course on all the bar exam topics, and Mike earned the top grade in his section.

• During law school, Mike enrolled in the State Appellate Defender’s Office (SADO) Clinic, which looked at post-conviction appeals of indigent defendants. This project helped those without money or legal means to get the needed legal appeal representation they deserved. Mike worked hand in hand with licensed SADO attorneys. In fact, Mike wrote the brief that was successfully argued at the Michigan Court of Appeals, which resulted in a reduced sentence for the client. This use of the law to help those in need kept the fire and desire burning in Mike to commit his life to the service of others through our legal system.

• Mike also interned with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office throughout law school, spending semesters supervised by licensed Assistant Prosecutors as he conducted several preliminary exams and felony bench and jury trials.

• Mike was elected the President of the Murphy (Student) Chapter of the Incorporated Society of Irish-American Lawyers (ISIAL), where he successfully organized the annual St. Patrick’s Day luncheon at the school, with all proceeds being donated to a local charity. Mike currently serves the main chapter of ISIAL as an Executive Board Member.

• After graduation, Mike took the Bar Exam, passed, and became a licensed attorney, ready to practice in not one but two States: Michigan and Illinois. Mike settled into Taylor while working for Norstar Building Corporation, creating and tracking the contracts for Federally funded housing projects in Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Flint, Michigan, among other sites. These houses were for low-income residents, and several units were provided to the area’s homeless population. When the time called, Mike would also lace up his work boots and help out on site, completing rough and finish work as needed to make sure the jobs were completed and the best possible product was delivered to the residents.

• Mike was a Judicial Intern for the Hon. Joseph D. Slaven. Mike assisted Judge Slaven with legal research, writing of legal Judgments and Opinions, and various lecture materials on all the Bar Exam topics. Mike continued in this capacity for nearly two years. 

• In 2016, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office hired Mike as a full time Assistant Prosecutor. His first stint was working in the District Courts throughout Wayne County. During that time, Mike conducted nearly 400 felony exams for crimes ranging from financial and identity fraud all the way up to Armed Robbery and Assault with Intent to Murder.  Mike also held a number of misdemeanor trials across distrcits courts within Wayne County.

• In 2018, Mike was reassigned to the General Trials Unit and quickly became one of the most trusted APAs within the unit. He was assigned to six different courtrooms as the self-described “cleanup man” due to his efficiency in getting dockets to move and reduce their numbers before being sent to a new courtroom to repeat the process. Mike continued his work at the Prosecutor’s Office assisting several courtrooms navigate the post-COVID 19 judicial system and all its new challenges.

• Mike was appointed by Mayor Tim Woolley to Taylor's Board of Ethics in January of 2022.  In March of 2022, Mike was elected by the Board to be the Chairman Pro Tem.

• In December of 2022, the State of Michigan hired Mike as an Administrative Law Judge to oversee and decide cases involving Unemployment Insurance Appeals.  Mike takes testimony from both Claimants and Employers and rules on the merits if the Unemployment Insurance Agency acted correctly when deciding whether a Claimant should be awarded or denied unemployment benefits.  Mike has heard nearly 3000 cases in the time that he has served as an Administrative Law Judge.

PERSONAL LIFE & FAMILY

• Mike met his wife, Lilly, in 2014 through mutual friends, and was married in November of 2018. They were blessed with their son, Logan, in October of 2019, who quickly became the center of their world. Logan was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in early 2021 and currently attends daily therapy, showing marked improvement.  Logan attends half-day school at Johnson Early Childhood Center in Taylor.

• Lilly works for Henry Ford Health and previously worked in the Ear, Nose, and Throat clinic for seven years.  Lilly received her Degree in Business Administration and currently works for Henry Ford Health as a Testing Analyst for the EPIC Team. Lilly ensures that when an upgrade is coming to Henry Fords electronic medical record system (EPIC) that it is working as intended and does not break the records. Lilly has been working on updating training documents and policies within her team.

• Mike comes from a long line of workers serving the public. Mike’s paternal grandfather, Michael J. Tinney, Sr., was a sailor in the U.S. Navy during World War II (surviving the attack on Pearl Harbor) and fighting in the Pacific Theater. After returning from the war, he worked at General Electric in various positions until his ultimate retirement. Michael Sr.’s brother Edward also saw combat in World War II, fighting in the U.S. Army Air Corps and performing bombing raids over Italy.

• As stated, Mike’s father, Michael J. Tinney, Jr., was a Detroit Police Officer, graduating from the police academy in 1975 and working until his retirement in 2001. During that time, Michael Jr. was assigned to a number of precincts, working traffic, patrol (both routine and proactive) until, as a senior officer, he took over as one of the payroll officers, making sure that his fellow officers were paid accurately and on time. Michael Jr. passed away after a long battle with cancer in 2003, when Mike was just 16 years old. 

• His Uncle Patrick (Michael Jr.’s twin) also joined the Detroit Police Department in 1975, meeting and eventually marrying Mike’s Aunt Cynthia (also a police officer), retiring in 2005 as a Lieutenant and has since worked as court security for the Federal Court in Detroit.

• Mike’s paternal Uncle Daniel (the oldest of the children) served as a U.S. Marine in the Korean War, afterwards becoming a firefighter for the City of Detroit. When Dan retired, he moved up to Mancelona, Michigan and was commissioned by the U.S. Navy training Sea Cadets in Northern Michigan before retiring for the last time in 2018.

• Mike’s paternal Aunt Jeanne worked for Michigan Bell (and its subsequent iterations), ensuring that Southeast Michigan’s phone lines kept working for everyone. Her husband, Al, served valiantly (two tours, the second voluntarily) in the Vietnam War.

• Mike’s mother, Jacqueline (former resident of the Act 1 Condo Complex on Jackson Street in Taylor), also worked at Michigan Bell starting in 1973, beginning in the steno pool, promoted to district secretary and assistant secretary for the Board of Directors before transferring to the legal department as secretary to the Head Attorney of Regulatory, later becoming the Chief of Staff to the President of the Michigan Branch, finally retiring after 30 years in 2003. She wouldn’t be retired long, however, as she followed one of the regulatory attorneys to the Dickinson Wright Law firm in Ann Arbor. Once again, she started as a secretary in 2003 and is currently the Regional Office Administrator of the Ann Arbor, Michigan and Lexington, Kentucky offices and is assistant to the CEO of the firm.  Jackie finally retired in February of 2024, and is enjoying her well-earned free time travelling with friends and spending time with her grandchildren.

• Mike’s sister Shannon has her Master’s Degree in Education and currently works as a paraprofessional in the Northville School District, assisting students on the Autism Spectrum. She and her husband are parents to two children, a son Michael (yes, another one), and a daughter Shelby.

• Mike joined the Free and Accepted Masons of Michigan, initially with Okemos Lodge #252, while still attending Michigan State University. He eventually transferred membership to Golden Ark #595 in Taylor on Goddard Road and is currently in the officer line as a Steward. He is a Past High Priest of Capital Chapter #9 and Thrice Illustrious Master of Lansing Council #29 of York Rite Masonry. Mike is also a 32° Mason of the Scottish Rite and has served as Treasurer for the Valley of Detroit (now part of the Valley of Michigan).

• When Mike gets a break from work, he enjoys a round of golf and playing adult hockey and softball leagues.  Mike's hockey team, the Chiefs, were League Champions for the 2023-24 season.