In 1999,  then-President Bill Clinton nominated Marianne Battani for a position on the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan. Now, after a 40-year career in law, she's stepping down from her role as a federal judge.  “It has been my great joy to work with you and to create so many friendships,” Battani, 76, said in a farewell letter to her colleagues before going on inactive status Dec. 31.

In June 2020, Battani announced she was stepping back from her judge duties to fight cancer, according to the Free Press. At the time, Battani oversaw a nationwide class-action antitrust lawsuit over price-fixing in the auto parts industry, which was one of the largest automotive price-fixing civil cases in U.S. history.