Judge Paula Baker Mathes was elected to the 60th District Court in 2020 and began her term on January 1, 2021.
Judge Mathes began her legal career helping indigent clients in civil matters. She spent 4 years at Legal Services of Northern Michigan in Escanaba. Then she moved to Muskegon where she worked for 10 years as an assistant prosecutor. She was in private practice for a few years before joining the Muskegon County Public Defender’s Office where she worked for 6 years.
She earned her BA from Tulane University and her JD from Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University.