Served from 1983 through 1998
Oral History / Investiture Ceremony
Patricia J. Boyle was born on March 31, 1937, in Detroit, Michigan. She received her B.A. from Wayne State University in 1963, and her J.D. from that same institution. She was married to Recorder’s Court Judge Terrance K. Boyle and was the mother of four sons. Boyle died in Florida on January 13, 2014.
Boyle was the Assistant United States Attorney from 1964 until 1968. She was the Director of Research Training and Appeals of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office from 1971 until 1976. She was a Judge in the Recorders’ Court in the City of Detroit from 1976 until 1978. Boyle was appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, where she served from 1978 until 1983. She was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court in April of 1983, and was elected to the Court in 1986. Boyle was re-elected in 1990 to serve an eight-year term.
Boyle was a member of various organizations, including the State Bar of Michigan, American Bar Association, National Association of Women Lawyers, National Association of Women Judges, and the Irish-American Lawyers Association. She was a life member of the NAACP and was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in October of 1986. ( Michigan Manual: Ed. 1997–1998. Lansing, Michigan: Legislative Council, State of Michigan.)
She greatly admired G. Mennen Williams. Boyle stated that Williams, “lives for me as my example of decency, humanity, vision, and humility. In the most difficult decisions of my professional life, I still ask myself, ‘I wonder what Mennen would have done.’ ”
Portrait presented on: (Click link to read transcript)
November 1, 2001
Portrait Artist:
Owens, Carl
Medium:
Oil on canvas.
Dimensions:
30″ x 40″
Owned by:
State of Michigan
Current location:
Hall of Justice – 1st Floor:
Learning Center
Portrait photo by:
Douglas Elbinger, June 1998