Mike Cox (American politician)

For other people named Michael Cox, see Michael Cox.

File:Mike Cox 1.jpg

Mike Cox (born 1961) is the 52^nd Michigan Attorney General, having served since January 1, 2003. He is the first Republican in 48 years to serve as Attorney General of Michigan. He won re-election in 2006, defeating Democratic candidate Amos Williams, an attorney from Detroit. Current Michigan Governor, Jennifer M. Granholm preceded him as the state's 51st Attorney General.

Cox is a graduate of Detroit Catholic Central High School and spent time in the United States Marine Corps before entering college. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1989 and went to work in the Wayne County Prosecutor's office. In 2000, Cox was appointed Director of the Homicide Unit, which prosecuted approximately two-thirds of all homicides in Michigan. [1] Cox's older brother, Sean Cox, is a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Mike and his wife Laura have four children.

2006 election

Cox had raised over $1.9 million to contest the 2006 election[2] and on November 7, 2006, was re-elected to a second term as Michigan's Attorney General defeating Democratic candidate Amos Williams. Cox is serving his last term as Attorney General, since Michigan statewide officeholders are limited to 2 terms in office.

Cox will likely seek the 2010 Republican nomination for Governor of Michigan.

Criticism

Cox received nationwide negative press in 2007 when the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that adultery could, at least in theory, be prosecuted as first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a resulting life in prision setence. This unanimous decision was reached was a result of an appeal sought by Cox's office on a drug case that touched in part on this strange loophole in the law. In 2005, Cox himself admitted to cheating on his wife multiple times with a subordinate employee.

Cox's spokesman and communications director Rusty Hills has defended him on whether Cox himself could be prosecuted. "To even ask about this borders on the nutty," Hills told Detroit Free Press Columnist, Brian Dickerson. "Nobody connects the attorney general with this - N-O-B-O-D-Y - and anybody who thinks otherwise is hallucinogenic." [3][4]

Cox has also been characterized by his opponents as one of the most disingenuous Attorney Generals in Michigan's history. Cox has been accused of playing politics with Michigan law. He has been an avid opponent of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community, using the power of the Attorney General's office to interpret Proposal 04-2 to ban health care and other benefits to same-sex couples. Cox has also been accused of ignoring cases that the Governor's office has encouraged him to pursue, because he personally opposes the issues at hand.

See also

• Michigan Republican Party

External links

• Mike Cox biography
• 2006 campaign
• Opposition site (Michigan Democratic Party)
• Amos Williams for Attorney General campaign site