Victoria King, a judicial staff attorney at the Oakland County Circuit Court, is running for an open Circuit Court Judge seat in the 6th Judicial Circuit.

The 6th Circuit covers Oakland County, including Birmingham and Bloomfield Township. The nonpartisan race will appear on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. King faces Lisa Marie Neilson in the race.

King said in a Surround Sound News candidate questionnaire that she is running because "the timing is right." She has spent 15 years advising Oakland County Circuit Court judges by drafting opinions, advising on motions and authoring court procedures, she said in the questionnaire. A personal experience caring for a family member with dementia also shaped her decision. "I learned to make tough decisions on his behalf that were not always the decisions I wanted to make but were what was best for him and what he would have wanted if he could make his own decisions," she said.

Candidate information

Office sought: Circuit Court Judge, 6th Circuit (Non-Incumbent)

Party: Nonpartisan. King said "Endorsements do not change the role of a judge or my commitment to judicial independence," though she has received the endorsement of the Oakland County Democratic Party.

Residence: Troy, Michigan, where she has lived for more than 28 years. King has been an Oakland County resident for more than 40 years.

Education: Bachelor of Arts with a double major in History and Classics from Hillsdale College, 1994, with honors. Master of Science in Software Engineering Administration from Central Michigan University, 2001, summa cum laude. Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 2010, cum laude. Admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in October 2010.

Family: Married to David. Three sons.

Experience and public service

King has worked as a judicial staff attorney at the Oakland County Circuit Court for most of her legal career. She worked as senior counsel at Gordon, Rees, Scully, Mansukhani, LLP from 2021 to 2023, focusing on advanced motions and appellate briefs, before returning to the court in 2023.

Before law school, King spent more than a decade as a quality assurance engineer in information technology. She said that career gave her "an analytic discipline that still informs how I read statutes and assess records."

King has held several bar leadership roles. She has served on the Oakland County Bar Association board since 2017 and is currently vice president and director. She is a trustee and past president of the Oakland County Bar Foundation. She also served as a 6th Circuit representative in the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly from 2016 to 2019, where she chaired the Drafting Committee.

In her community, King previously served as treasurer of the Smith Middle School PTO and as an advisory member of the State Bar of Michigan Character & Fitness Committee.

On the issues

Courtroom preparedness: King said family court litigants "deserve a judge who has read every brief, every motion, and every relevant authority before they walk in." She cited her current work preparing cases for Oakland County judges as evidence she could handle the role from day one. King said 21 of the 23 past, present and visiting Oakland County Circuit Court judges who have endorsed in the race backed her candidacy, according to her questionnaire response.

Access to justice: King identified the cost of pursuing or defending a lawsuit as the greatest obstacle to justice. She pointed to a gap in legal aid services for people who earn too much to qualify for traditional programs but cannot afford an attorney. She said she would continue working with the Oakland County Bar Association and Bar Foundation to develop programs addressing that gap.

Court efficiency: King said improving access to justice requires changes at the courtroom, administrative and organizational levels. She called for simplifying procedures, modernizing technology, improving case management and expanding alternative dispute resolution. She said her background in quality assurance and process improvement informs her approach.

Family court focus: King said on her campaign website that she would focus on Family Court matters including divorces, custody, juvenile cases and other cases affecting children and families.

Endorsements

According to King's campaign website, her endorsements include Jeffery S. Matis, chief judge of the Oakland County Circuit Court; Robert P. Young Jr., retired chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court; Colleen A. O'Brien of the Michigan Court of Appeals; and Amy Ronayne Krause, retired from the Michigan Court of Appeals. She has also been endorsed by the Oakland County Democratic Party, Detroit Pipefitters Local 636, Sheet Metal Workers' Local 80 Political Action Committee and the National Association of Social Workers Michigan Chapter. The Women Lawyers Association of Michigan gave her an Outstanding rating.