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27-719: Each year, the Court receives approximately 2,000 new case filings. In most cases, the litigants seek review of Michigan Court of Appeals decisions, but the Supreme Court also hears cases of attorney misconduct (through a bifurcated disciplinary system comprising an investigation and prosecution agency – the Attorney Grievance Commission – and a separate adjudicative agency – the Attorney Discipline Board), judicial misconduct (through

54-913: A pediatric advocacy law clinic focusing on children with health problems, and a domestic violence clinic. She retired from the Supreme Court at the end of 2022 and became President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Arbitration Association in February 2023. The older sister of actress Mary and filmmaker Will , McCormack grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey and graduated from Wardlaw-Hartridge School in 1984. She received her Bachelor of Arts with honors in political science and philosophy from Trinity College in Connecticut in 1988. She received her Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law , where she

81-512: A terrorist" when she represented Abdumuqit Vohidov , who had been held without charge in Guantanamo . Andrew Rosenthal of The New York Times criticized the ad as exploitative, pointing out that Vohidov was released by a non-judicial board, and questioning whether he should be described as a "terrorist". McCormack was elected, along with incumbents Stephen Markman and Brian Zahra . In 2019, Markman stepped down as chief justice, and

108-468: Is a mechanism to convene a special 7-member "conflict panel" (similar to the en banc procedure in the U.S. Courts of Appeals ) that resolves the conflict between the earlier decision and the expressed desire of a panel of the court's judges to depart from that precedent. Unlike the circuits of the federal courts, the Michigan Court of Appeal's precedents apply are applied statewide regardless of

135-706: Is an American lawyer, professor, and retired justice. She served on the Michigan Supreme Court from 2013 to 2022, first as an associate justice , and as chief justice from 2019 to 2022. Previously she was a professor at the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor , where she taught criminal law and legal ethics and oversaw the law school's clinical programs as associate dean of clinical affairs. Her academic work focused on practical experience in legal education. McCormack launched and worked in

162-420: Is seated to fill the remaining portion of the vacated term. Following the 2012 election, the court had a 4–3 conservative Republican majority, with Robert P. Young Jr. serving as Chief Justice. After the resignation of Justice Diane Hathaway and appointment of David Viviano in 2013, there was a 5–2 Republican majority. After the 2018 election, the court reverted to a 4–3 conservative Republican majority with

189-537: Is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan . It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reported both in an official publication of the State of Michigan, Michigan Appeals Reports , as well as the unofficial, privately published North Western Reporter , published by West . Appeals from this court's decisions go to

216-752: The Association of American Law Schools Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure. In 2008, she testified before the Detroit City Council about its investigation of the city attorney's role in the case involving former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick . In 2012, McCormack ran for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court. She ran an independent outsider campaign, and was not a favorite of the Michigan Democratic Party establishment, though she ultimately received

243-620: The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission . This is an agency within the judiciary, having jurisdiction over allegations of judicial misconduct, misbehavior, and infirmity. The Supreme Court is given original, superintending control power, and appellate jurisdiction over the issue of penalty (up to and including removal of judges from office). The Michigan Supreme Court can be dated back to the Supreme Court of Michigan Territory, established in 1805 with three justices. These justices served for indefinite terms. In 1823,

270-497: The Michigan Supreme Court . The court originally had only nine judges . The number was steadily increased by the Michigan Legislature to accommodate the court's growing caseload—to 12 in 1969, to 18 in 1974, to 24 in 1988, and to 28 in 1993. In 2012, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed into law legislation which provided for the transition of each of the court's 4 election districts to 6 judges, which will bring

297-399: The U.S. Courts of Appeals . Like most appellate courts, the Court of Appeals observes the principle of stare decisis , where a court's reasoning in its past precedents binds its present decisions. When a panel of the court disagrees with a prior precedent, it must abide by the earlier decision in deciding the case at hand. When a panel expresses its disagreement with a prior precedent, there

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324-553: The Judicial Tenure Commission), as well as a small number of matters over which the Court has original jurisdiction. The Court issues a decision by order or opinion in all cases filed with it. Opinions and orders of the Court are reported in an official publication, Michigan Reports , as well as in Thomson West's privately published North Western Reporter . The Court's other duties include overseeing

351-500: The Supreme Court, so justices now only served on the Michigan Supreme Court and reduced its size to only four justices, one of whom was the Chief Justice. In 1887, the court was expanded to five justices each serving for ten years. The court was again expanded in 1903 to eight justices serving terms of eight years. In 1964, the new state constitution provided that the next justice to leave the court would not be replaced to reduce

378-434: The court back to 24 judges over time through attrition. The court has 25 judges who are elected from four electoral districts for 6-year terms on a non-partisan ballot. Vacancies are filled by the governor . Judges or candidates who reach the age of 70 are not allowed to run for election. Although the judges are elected in districts, they sit as one statewide court. Cases are heard by panels of 3 judges, similarly to

405-549: The court to seven members, which was achieved when Justice Theodore Souris declined to run for re-election in 1968, leaving the court with seven members since January 1, 1969. The Supreme Court consists of seven justices who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot. Supreme Court candidates must be qualified electors, licensed to practice law in Michigan for at least five years, and under 70 years of age at

432-466: The district in which an opinion is handed down. The court has four electoral districts: All four districts have offices in these locations, but the 2nd District in Troy does not have a courtroom. Due to the geographic size of the 4th District, the court will, on occasion, schedule a panel to hear cases in a northern Michigan city (such as Marquette , Petoskey , or Traverse City ), for the convenience of

459-605: The election of Megan Cavanagh. In 2020, Bridget Mary McCormack was re-elected as Chief Justice and Elizabeth M. Welch was elected as Justice, giving the Democrats a 4–3 majority on the court starting January 1, 2021. This also made the court majority female for the fourth time in state history. The current justices of the Michigan Supreme Court are: 42°44′01″N 84°33′56″W  /  42.733664°N 84.565431°W  / 42.733664; -84.565431 Michigan Court of Appeals The Michigan Court of Appeals

486-446: The end of the year to take over as president and CEO of the American Arbitration Association . McCormack's father is a former United States Marine and retired small business owner, and her mother is a clinical social worker. McCormack's sister Mary is an actress. Her brother Will is an actor and screenwriter. McCormack is married to University of Michigan Law School professor Steven P. Croley , who served as general counsel in

513-559: The law school, McCormack supervised students in complex federal litigation in the general clinical program. McCormack also worked to expand Michigan Law School's clinical offerings during her tenure. In 2008, McCormack founded the Michigan Innocence Clinic, which is the nation's first innocence clinic to focus on non-DNA evidence. McCormack has published articles on constitutional law, criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence, and legal ethics. McCormack served on

540-414: The members of the court chose McCormack to succeed him. This was the first time in the state's history that the governor ( Gretchen Whitmer ), attorney general ( Dana Nessel ), secretary of state ( Jocelyn Benson ), and chief justice (McCormack) were all women. In 2020, McCormack was reelected to a second eight-year term on the Supreme Court. In September 2022, she announced that she would retire by

567-523: The operations of all state trial courts. It is assisted in this endeavor by the State Court Administrative Office, one of its agencies. The Court's responsibilities also include a public comment process for changes to court rules, rules of evidence and other administrative matters. The court has broad superintending control power over all the state courts in Michigan. Article 6, Section 30 of the Michigan Constitution creates

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594-422: The parties. Each district elects six or seven judges, but the judges on the various panels are not drawn from specific districts. There are also four case filing districts based around geographic proximity to the court's physical records; because of this, the lines of the electoral districts and case filing districts do not correspond. Bridget Mary McCormack Bridget Mary McCormack (born July 23, 1966)

621-540: The party's endorsement. Her campaign included an advertisement encouraging voters to complete the non-partisan section of the ballot where this seat was listed, and also promoting her qualifications. The ad featured a reunion of much of the principal cast of The West Wing in their former roles, including McCormack's sister Mary . During the campaign, the Judicial Crisis Network released an ad claiming that McCormack had "volunteered to help free

648-479: The senate. In 1838, Justice William A. Fletcher proposed a new plan for the court that the legislature approved. This increased the number of circuits to four and thus expanded the bench to four justices, but left the quorum at two. In 1848, the court was expanded to five justices and the 1850 Michigan constitution provided that they be elected for six-year terms. In 1858, the Circuit Courts were split from

675-455: The terms of justices were limited to four years. The Michigan Supreme Court was the only court created by the first Michigan constitution in 1835. It had three members and each also oversaw one of the three judicial circuits, located in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo. The court needed a quorum of two to operate and members were appointed to seven-year terms by the governor with the consent of

702-455: The time of election. Vacancies are filled by appointment of the Governor until the next general election. Every two years, the justices elect a member of the Court to serve as Chief Justice. The Michigan Constitution allows vacancies on the state Supreme Court to be initially filled by the Governor, with that appointee serving until the next general election, at which time the elected winner

729-827: Was a Root-Tilden Scholar , in 1991. McCormack started her legal career in New York, first as trial counsel at the Legal Aid Society and then at the Office of the Appellate Defender. She taught at Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut as a Robert M. Cover Fellow from 1997 to 1998. She joined the faculty of the University of Michigan Law School in 1998, and became associate dean of clinical affairs in 2003. As associate dean for clinical affairs at

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