Dana Nessel

Dana Michelle Nessel was born on April 19, 1969, in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. She is the 54th Attorney General of Michigan, serving since January 1, 2019. Nessel is a member of the Democratic Party and represents the state in legal matters.

She is the first openly LGBTQ person elected to statewide office in Michigan and the second openly lesbian woman elected attorney general of a state in the United States. Nessel is also the first Jewish person elected Attorney General of Michigan. She is married to Alanna Maguire and has twin sons, Alex and Zach.

Education

Nessel is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School.

Political Experience

Early Career

Nessel began her legal career as an Assistant Prosecutor in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, where she spent more than a decade assigned to elite units handling difficult cases in the Child & Family Abuse Bureau, Police Conduct Review Team, and Auto Theft Unit. She was specially assigned to try homicide, arson, criminal sexual conduct, and gang-related conspiracy cases.

Attorney General

As Michigan's Attorney General, Nessel has focused on progressive initiatives. Notable achievements include:

• Same-Sex Marriage Advocacy: She successfully argued for plaintiffs in DeBoer v. Snyder in 2014, which challenged Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. This case was eventually combined with others and appealed to the Supreme Court as Obergefell v. Hodges, leading to nationwide legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

• Policy Reversals: Upon assuming office, she withdrew Michigan from 23 controversial cases initiated by her predecessor, Bill Schuette, involving separation of church and state, LGBTQ discrimination, environmental protection, and abortion issues.

• Civil Rights Protections: She personally argued Rouch World LLC v. Michigan Department of Civil Rights before the Michigan Supreme Court in March 2022, securing a reinterpretation of the state's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

• Hate Crimes Unit: She created a hate crimes unit within her office.

• Criminal Investigations: Her office secured key convictions in the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal and opened investigations into groups spreading false information about the 2020 election.

• Healthcare Advocacy: She joined a coalition of attorneys general supporting the Affordable Care Act and intervened in federal lawsuits to defend it.

Nessel was sworn in for her second term as Attorney General in January 2023, succeeding term-limited Republican Bill Schuette and becoming the first Democrat to serve as attorney general since Jennifer Granholm left the office in 2003.