MEET JUDGE DEEGAN

Jennifer Deegan graduated from Alma College and Wayne State University Law School. She began her law practice working for Consolidated Legal Services, which provided legal services, including divorce, custody, and child support matters to union employees. This brought her to many different courts in southeast Michigan but when she traveled to the Port Huron courts, she found the legal community to be welcoming and professional and treated each other courteously.

This made her want to join such a community. She soon applied for and received a judicial law clerk position with the 31st Circuit Court Judges and learned so much from them in both the civil and criminal law fields. She settled in St. Clair County at the start of this clerkship and made it her home.

After working for the judges in St. Clair County, she was hired into the St. Clair County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. She spent much of her law career in this office, almost a full 25 years, advocating and proceeding to trial in over 100 bench and jury trials of all types, not to mention the hundreds of cases that she handled which required being able to research the law, write or answer motions, and think on her feet in the courtroom on an almost daily basis.

She worked diligently for the people of St. Clair County who had been victimized in many ways. Her most challenging but rewarding time in the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office involved the prosecution of people who sexually or physically abused children and other special victims. She worked closely with the St. Clair County Child Abuse and Neglect Council during this time, assisting with prevention education in the schools, and currently continues to support this Council due to its immense value to this community.

She also handled all the prosecution of drunk or drugged-related driving resulting in death or serious injury to victims for approximately 13 years. One of these prosecutions resulted in her receiving the David M Schieber Life Saver Award in 2014.

On top of her successful career in the law, Jennifer gives back to the community and has been a part of both the Lake Huron Foundation and the Lake Huron Medical Center board for many years and is currently Board Chair of the hospital. She was a member of the YMCA Open Arms Committee and the St. Clair County Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Council.

She has been blessed to be married for almost 23 years to Joshua Deegan and together they have fostered and adopted three beautiful daughters. They enjoy spending time together outside, biking, and boating in the area. In the winter months, the family enjoys winter hikes and snow skiing. Jennifer is an avid runner, having completed several full and half marathons, and makes exercise an important part of her life.