Judicial portrait of Kennedy by Robert Maniscalco.
Kennedy was nominated by President Richard Nixon on September 3, 1970, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan vacated by Judge Thaddeus M. Machrowicz. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 6, 1970, and received her commission on October 7, 1970. She served as Chief Judge from 1977 to 1979, becoming the first female chief judge of a federal district court.[1] Her service was terminated on October 3, 1979, due to elevation to the Sixth Circuit.[4]
Kennedy was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on April 9, 1979, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, to a new seat created by 92 Stat. 1629. She was confirmed by the Senate on September 25, 1979, and received her commission on September 26, 1979.[2] She assumed senior status on March 1, 1999, serving in that status until her death.[4]
Groefsema married Charles Stuart Kennedy, Jr. [when?] They had one son, Charles Stuart Kennedy III (born November 8, 1962).[5] Kennedy died at age 90 on May 12, 2014.[3]