Michael Zimmerman (jurist)

Michael Mugaku Zimmerman
Michael and his wife, Diane Musho Hamilton
School	Zen Buddhism
Lineage	White Plum Asanga
Personal
Nationality	American
Born	1943 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Spouse	Diane Musho Hamilton
Children	Evangeline Zimmerman Burbidge Alessandra Zimmerman Morgan Zimmerman William Smith
Senior posting
Based in	Two Arrows Zen
Title	Sensei Former Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court
Religious career
Teacher	Genpo Merzel
Website	Two Arrows Zen

Michael D. Zimmerman (born 1943) is a prominent attorney, a former justice of the Utah Supreme Court, and a Zen teacher at Two Arrows Zen (TAZ) located in Salt Lake City, Utah. He received shiho from his teacher Dennis Genpo Merzel in December 2006. Zimmerman, the former Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court, is married to Diane Musho Hamilton (also a sensei at TAZ). As a justice he was known for his ethics, receiving in 1994 the "Excellence in Ethics Award" from the Center for the Study of Ethics at Utah Valley State College.^[1] Zimmerman had come to Zen Buddhism in 1993 seeking a support system for himself as his first wife Lynne battled terminal cancer. Later, through his work in the courts, he met Diane and began sitting zazen at Kanzeon Zen Center with Merzel under Hamilton's suggestion. The two were married by Merzel in 1998. Zimmerman is currently a practicing attorney and partner at Zimmerman, Jones, and Booher in Salt Lake City. From 1984 to 2000 he served as a Justice for the Utah Supreme Court, and from 1994 to 1998 he acted as Chief Justice.^[2][3]

Biography

Michael Zimmerman was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1943. He attended university at the University of Utah, entering its law school and graduating first in his class. He was also awarded order of the coif for his academic achievement. Following graduation, Zimmerman moved to Washington, D.C. and worked as a judicial clerk for Warren E. Burger, then the acting Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He then moved to Los Angeles, working as a lawyer for O’Melveny & Myers there. Zimmerman moved back to Utah to practice law for a short period, also serving as a special counsel to Utah Governor Scott Milne Matheson part time. At the time of Zimmerman's joining in the Utah Supreme Court majority upholding prayers at government meetings as long as there was no religious restriction on who could give the prayer, Zimmerman was still an Episcopalian.^[4]

Zimmerman began a meditation practice in 1993 while his first wife, Lynne Mariani Zimmerman, was suffering a terminal illness. She died the next year, in January of 1994, after a year-long struggle with cancer. Zimmerman continued to serve as Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court during this time, while also raising their three daughters on his own. In 1996, at the suggestion of Diane Hamilton, he began sitting zazen at Kanzeon Zen Center. In 1998 he received jukai and was given the Buddhist name of Mugaku ("no learning"). Later that year, he was married by his teacher, Dennis Genpo Merzel, to Diane Musho Hamilton. In December 2006 he received Dharma transmission from Dennis Genpo Merzel,^[5] giving him authority to teach Zen to others.

Awards

• 1988: Utah State Bar Appellate Judge of the Year
• 1994: Excellence in Ethics Award (Utah Valley State College)
• 1998: Distinguished Service Award from the Utah State Bar
• 2001: Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Utah

See also

• Buddhism in the United States
• Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States

Notes

References

• Jarvik, Elaine (December 15, 2006). "Utah justice now Zen teacher". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2008-03-21.