Sean Cox

Cox was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, John and Rita Cox immigrated to the United States from Ireland. He received a Bachelor of General Studies degree from the University of Michigan in 1979 and his Juris Doctor from the Detroit College of Law (now the Michigan State University College of Law) in 1983. Prior to joining the federal bench, Cox was a trial judge in Michigan for the Third Judicial Circuit Court in Wayne County, Michigan. He was appointed by Governor John Engler in 1996.[1] Before that, Cox was in private practice in Michigan from 1983-1996

President George W. Bush nominated Cox to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on September 10, 2004 and renominated him on February 4, 2005, to fill a vacancy left by Judge Lawrence Paul Zatkoff. Due to the opposition of Michigan Senator Carl Levin to several of President Bush’s Judicial nominations, Cox's nomination was not voted on until June 8, 2006, when he was confirmed by voice vote. He received his commission on June 12, 2006.

Judge Cox has sat by designation with the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and has served as a visiting Judge for the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Judge Cox has presided over many complex civil and criminal cases. In November of 2010, Judge Cox was assigned the longstanding civil action involving the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, filed in 1977. In 2013, Judge Cox was appointed by Chief Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes to serve as a mediator in the City of Detroit Bankruptcy case and he successfully mediated a resolution of several issues impacting the bankruptcy case, which ultimately resulted in the creation of the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Judge Cox presided over the 2016 criminal case filed against Volkswagen, in which the company was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and consumers, and to violate the Clean Air Act, by misleading the EPA and customers about whether certain of its vehicles complied with U.S. emission standards. The company ultimately pleaded guilty and was assessed a criminal penalty of 2.8 billion dollars.

• Sean Cox at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Thomas, Ken, "Senate confirms Ludington, Cox to federal bench," Associated Press, June 8, 2006.
• Biography at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan