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Michigan Supreme Court
 
 
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The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court
Court

A court is a body, often a government institution, with the authority to adjudication legal disputes and dispense private law, criminal justice, or administrative law justice in accordance with rules of law....
 in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of Michigan
Michigan

Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices, who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot.






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Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court
Court

A court is a body, often a government institution, with the authority to adjudication legal disputes and dispense private law, criminal justice, or administrative law justice in accordance with rules of law....
 in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of Michigan
Michigan

Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and 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 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.

Each year, the Court receives over 2,000 new case filings. In most cases, the litigants seek review of Michigan Court of Appeals
Michigan Court of Appeals

The Michigan Court of Appeals 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....
 decisions, but the Supreme Court also hears cases of attorney and judicial misconduct, 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
North Western Reporter

The North Western Reporter and North Western Reporter, Second Series are United States regional Reporter containing published appellate court case decisions for:...
.

The Court's other duties include overseeing the operations of all state trial courts; the Court is assisted by the State Court Administrative Office, an agency of the Court. 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.

Under Article 6, Section 30 of the Michigan Constitution
Michigan Constitution

The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government....
, the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission is created. This is an agency within the judiciary, which has 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 Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice in Lansing
Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the List of U.S. state capitals of the U.S. state of Michigan, and the state's sixth largest city. It is located about 80 miles west-northwest of Detroit, Michigan and is mostly in Ingham County, Michigan, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan....
, the state capital.

Current Justices

  • Marilyn Jean Kelly
    Marilyn Jean Kelly

    Marilyn Jean Kelly is a jurist in the U.S. state of Michigan. Mrs. Kelly is serving her second term in office as a Justice on the Michigan Supreme Court....
    , 1996–present, Chief Justice 2009–present
  • Michael F. Cavanagh, 1982–present, Chief Justice 1991–1995
  • Elizabeth A. Weaver, 1994–present, Chief Justice 1999–2000
  • Maura D. Corrigan
    Maura D. Corrigan

    Maura D. Corrigan is a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, having been elected to the court in 1998. She served two terms as Chief Justice from 2001?2004....
    , 1998–present, Chief Justice 2001–2004
  • Robert P. Young Jr., 1999–present
  • Stephen J. Markman
    Stephen Markman

    Stephen Markman was appointed as the 103rd Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Prior to that, he served as Judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals, having been re-elected in 1996 and 1998 from his 60-county judicial district....
    , 1999–present
  • Diane Marie Hathaway, 2009–present


Former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justices

  • Clark J. Adams
  • John E. Bird
  • Charles A. Blair
  • Emerson R. Boyles
  • Thomas E. Brennan
    Thomas E. Brennan

    Thomas E. Brennan is an attorney, former jurist and educator in the U.S. state of Michigan. He served as the 81st judge and Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court....
  • James H. Brickley
  • Flavius L. Brooke
  • George E. Bushnell
  • Henry M. Butzel
  • James V. Campbell
  • William L. Carpenter
  • Leland W. Carr
    Leland W. Carr

    Leland Walker Carr was a Michigan Supreme Court justice from 1945 to 1963.External links*...
  • Michael F. Cavanagh
  • John W. Champlin
  • Bert D. Chandler
  • Isaac P. Christiancy
    Isaac P. Christiancy

    Isaac Peckham Christiancy was Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and U.S. Senator from the U.S. state of Michigan.Christiancy was born near Johnstown , New York in what is now Bleecker, New York to parents of humble means....
  • George M. Clark
  • Mary S. Coleman
  • Thomas M. Cooley
    Thomas M. Cooley

    Thomas McIntyre Cooley, LL.D., was the 25th Justice and a Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, between 1864 and 1885. He was father to Charles Cooley, a distinguished American sociologist....
  • Maura D. Corrigan
    Maura D. Corrigan

    Maura D. Corrigan is a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, having been elected to the court in 1998. She served two terms as Chief Justice from 2001?2004....
  • John R. Dethmers
    John R. Dethmers

    John R. Dethmers was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Dethmers was born in Plessis, Iowa, O'Brien County, Iowa, Iowa. He resided in Orange City, Iowa, Holland, Michigan and East Lansing, Michigan....
  • Louis H. Fead
  • Grant Fellows
  • John W. Fitzgerald
  • Richard C. Flannigan
  • William A. Fletcher
  • Claudius B. Grant
  • Benjamin F. Graves
  • Sanford M. Green
  • Frank A. Hooker
  • Thomas G. Kavanagh
  • Thomas M. Kavanagh
    Thomas M. Kavanagh

    Thomas Matthew Kavanagh - was an American politician. Born near Carson City, Michigan he served as the 48th Michigan Attorney General from 1955 to 1957....
  • Franz C. Kuhn
  • Charles D. Long
  • Conrad L. Mallett, Jr.
  • Isaac Marston
  • George Martin
  • Aaron V. McAlvay
  • John S. McDonald
  • John W. McGrath
  • Robert M. Montgomery
  • Joseph B. Moore
  • George Morrell
  • Allen B. Morse
  • Walter H. North
  • Russell C. Ostrander
  • William W. Potter
    William W. Potter (Michigan politician)

    William W. Potter was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Potter was born to Lucien B. and Clarinda L. Potter in Maple Grove Township, Barry County, Michigan....
  • Abner Pratt
  • Epaphroditus Ransom
    Epaphroditus Ransom

    Epaphroditus Ransom was List of Governors of Michigan and Michigan Supreme Court justice from the U.S. state of Michigan....
  • Neil E. Reid
  • Dorothy Comstock Riley
    Dorothy Comstock Riley

    Dorothy Comstock Riley was a lawyer and judge from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving on the Michigan Supreme Court and the first woman to serve on the Michigan Court of Appeals....
  • Edward M. Sharpe
  • Nelson Sharpe
  • Thomas R. Sherwood
  • Solomon Sibley
    Solomon Sibley

    Solomon Sibley was a United States politician and jurist in the Michigan Territory....
  • Raymond W. Starr
  • Joseph H. Steere
  • John W. Stone
    John W. Stone

    John Wesley Stone was a politician and judge from the U.S. state of Michigan.Stone was born in Wadsworth, Ohio and attended the public schools and Spencer Academy in Spencer, Ohio....
  • Clifford W. Taylor
  • Elizabeth A. Weaver
  • Charles W. Whipple
  • Howard Wiest
  • G. Mennen Williams
    G. Mennen Williams

    Gerhard Mennen Williams, also known as Soapy Williams, , was a politician from the U.S. State of Michigan. In his role as "Soapy", he was especially known for his trademark bow tie, shown in the photo of him in this article....
  • Warner Wing
  • James Witherell
    James Witherell

    James Witherell was a United States Representative from Vermont. He was born in Mansfield, Massachusetts. After completing preparatory studies, he served in the Continental Army 1775-1783 during the American Revolutionary War....
  • Augustus B. Woodward


Former Justices

  • Clark J. Adams, 1952-1953
  • Paul L. Adams, 1962, 1964-1973
  • Dennis Archer
    Dennis Archer

    Dennis Wayne Archer is an Law of the United States and politician from Michigan. A Democratic Party , Archer served on the Michigan Supreme Court and as mayor of Detroit, Michigan....
    , 1985-1993
  • Nathaniel Bacon, 1855-1857
  • Frederick Bates
    Frederick Bates

    Frederick Bates , brother of Edward Bates and James Woodson Bates, was an United States politician. Born in 1777 in Belmont, Virginia, Bates started his career as a Justice of the Territorial Supreme Court for Michigan Territory in Detroit, Michigan....
    , 1805-1808 (Territorial Justice)
  • John E. Bird, 1910-1928
  • Eugene F. Black, 1956-1973
  • Charles A. Blair, 1905-1912
  • Patricia J. Boyle, 1983-1998
  • Emerson R. Boyles, 1940-1956
  • Thomas E. Brennan
    Thomas E. Brennan

    Thomas E. Brennan is an attorney, former jurist and educator in the U.S. state of Michigan. He served as the 81st judge and Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court....
    , 1967-1973
  • James H. Brickley, 1983-1999
  • Flavius L. Brooke, 1909-1921
  • George E. Bushnell, 1934-1955
  • Henry M. Butzel, 1929-1955
  • Edward Cahill, 1890
  • James V. Campbell, 1858-1890
  • William L. Carpenter, 1902-1908
  • Leland W. Carr
    Leland W. Carr

    Leland Walker Carr was a Michigan Supreme Court justice from 1945 to 1963.External links*...
    , 1945-1963
  • Bert D. Chandler, 1936-1943
  • John W. Champlin, 1884-1892
  • Henry C. Chipman, 1827-1832 (Territorial Justice)
  • Isaac P. Christiancy
    Isaac P. Christiancy

    Isaac Peckham Christiancy was Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and U.S. Senator from the U.S. state of Michigan.Christiancy was born near Johnstown , New York in what is now Bleecker, New York to parents of humble means....
    , 1857-1874
  • George M. Clark, 1919-1933
  • Mary S. Coleman, 1973-1982
  • Thomas M. Cooley
    Thomas M. Cooley

    Thomas McIntyre Cooley, LL.D., was the 25th Justice and a Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, between 1864 and 1885. He was father to Charles Cooley, a distinguished American sociologist....
    , 1864-1885
  • Joseph T. Copeland, 1852-1857
  • John R. Dethmers
    John R. Dethmers

    John R. Dethmers was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Dethmers was born in Plessis, Iowa, O'Brien County, Iowa, Iowa. He resided in Orange City, Iowa, Holland, Michigan and East Lansing, Michigan....
    , 1946-1971
  • Samuel T Douglass, 1852-1857
  • George H. Durand
    George H. Durand

    George Harman Durand was a politician, jurist, and attorney from the U.S. state of Michigan....
    , 1892
  • George C. Edwards, 1956-1961
  • Louis H. Fead, 1928-1937
  • Alpheus Felch
    Alpheus Felch

    Alpheus Felch was Governor and U.S. Senator from Michigan....
    , 1842-1845
  • Grant Fellows, 1917-1929
  • John Warner Fitzgerald
    John Warner Fitzgerald

    John Warner Fitzgerald was a lawyer, member of the Michigan Senate, and chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.Fitzgerald was born in Grand Ledge, Michigan, the son of Frank Dwight Fitzgerald, Governor of Michigan, 1935-1936 and 1939, when he died in office....
    , 1974-1982
  • Richard C. Flannigan, 1928
  • William A. Fletcher, 1836-1842 (1st Justice)
  • Daniel Goodwin, 1843-1846
  • Claudius B. Grant, 1890-1909
  • Benjamin F. Graves, 1868-1883
  • Sanford M. Green, 1848-1857
  • John Griffin, 1805-1824 (Territorial Justice)
  • Robert P. Griffin
    Robert P. Griffin

    Robert Paul Griffin was a United States House of Representatives and United States Senate from the U.S. state of Michigan.Griffin was born in Detroit, Michigan and attended public schools in Garden City, Michigan and Dearborn, Michigan....
    , 1987-1994
  • Frank A. Hooker, 1893-1911
  • John Hunt, 1824-1827 (Territorial Justice)
  • David Johnson, 1852-1857
  • Thomas G. Kavanagh, 1969-1984
  • Thomas M. Kavanagh
    Thomas M. Kavanagh

    Thomas Matthew Kavanagh - was an American politician. Born near Carson City, Michigan he served as the 48th Michigan Attorney General from 1955 to 1957....
    , 1958-1975
  • Harry F. Kelly
    Harry Kelly (politician)

    Harry Francis Kelly was an United States politician. He served as a Republican Party Governor of Michigan from 1943 to 1947....
    , 1954-1971
  • Frank C. Kuhn, 1912-1919
  • Edwin Lawrence, 1857
  • Charles Levin
    Charles Levin

    For the actor, see Charles Levin .'Charles Leonard Levin' was a Michigan jurist. He served as a Michigan Court of Appeals judge from 1966 to 1972 and as a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 1973 to 1996....
    , 1973-1996
  • Lawrence Lindemer
    Lawrence Lindemer

    Lawrence "Larry" Boyd Lindemer was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Lindemer was born in Syracuse, New York. He attended Hamilton College in New York for two years, then transferred to the University of Michigan and graduated with an Bachelor of Arts in 1943....
    , 1975-1976
  • Charles D. Long, 1888-1902
  • Conrad L. Mallett Jr., 1990-1998
  • Randolph Manning, 1858-1864
  • Isaac Marston, 1875-1883
  • George Martin, 1851-1867
  • Thomas F. McAllister, 1938-1941
  • Aaron V. McAlvay, 1905-1915
  • John S. McDonald, 1922-1933
  • John W. McGrath, 1890-1895
  • George Miles, 1846-1850
  • Robert M. Montgomery, 1892-1910
  • Blair Moody, Jr. 1977-1982
  • Joseph B. Moore, 1895-1925
  • George Morrell, 1832-1836 (Territorial Justice) 1836-1843
  • Allen B. Morse, 1885-1892
  • Edward Mundy
    Edward Mundy (politician)

    Edward Mundy was a politician and judge from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving as its first Lieutenant Governor.Mundy was born in Middlesex County, New Jersey, and was educated at Rutgers College, graduating in 1812....
    , 1848-1851
  • Walter H. North, 1927-1952
  • Michael D. O'Hara, 1963-1968
  • Russel C. Ostrander, 1905-1919
  • Rollin H. Person, 1915-1916
  • William W. Potter
    William W. Potter (Michigan politician)

    William W. Potter was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Potter was born to Lucien B. and Clarinda L. Potter in Maple Grove Township, Barry County, Michigan....
    , 1928-1940
  • Abner Pratt, 1850-1857
  • Epaphroditus Ransom
    Epaphroditus Ransom

    Epaphroditus Ransom was List of Governors of Michigan and Michigan Supreme Court justice from the U.S. state of Michigan....
    , 1837-1848
  • Neil E. Reid, 1944-1956
  • Dorothy Comstock Riley
    Dorothy Comstock Riley

    Dorothy Comstock Riley was a lawyer and judge from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving on the Michigan Supreme Court and the first woman to serve on the Michigan Court of Appeals....
    , 1982-1983, 1985-1997
  • James L. Ryan
    James L. Ryan

    James Leo Ryan is a senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Prior to joining the Sixth Circuit, Ryan was the 89th Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, serving from 1975 through 1985....
    , 1975-1985
  • Edward M. Sharpe, 1934-1957
  • Nelson Sharpe, 1919-1935
  • Thomas R. Sherwood, 1883-1889
  • Solomon Sibley
    Solomon Sibley

    Solomon Sibley was a United States politician and jurist in the Michigan Territory....
    , 1827-1837 (Territorial Justice)
  • Otis M. Smith
    Otis M. Smith

    Otis M. Smith was the first African American justice on the Michigan Supreme Court and the General Counsel for General Motors.Smith graduated from law school at The Catholic University of America in 1950, where he was a member of the first volume of the school's Law Review....
    , 1961-1967
  • Talbot Smith
    Talbot Smith

    Talbot Smith was a United States federal judge.Smith was born in Fayette, Missouri. He received a B.S. from U.S. Naval Academy in 1920. He received a M.S....
    , 1955-1961
  • Ernest A. Snow, 1926-1927
  • Theodore Souris, 1960-1968
  • Raymond Starr, 1941-1946
  • Joseph H. Steere, 1911-1927
  • John W. Stone
    John W. Stone

    John Wesley Stone was a politician and judge from the U.S. state of Michigan.Stone was born in Wadsworth, Ohio and attended the public schools and Spencer Academy in Spencer, Ohio....
    , 1910-1922
  • John Swainson
    John Swainson

    John Burley Swainson was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, as well as the 42nd Governor of Michigan.Swainson was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and moved to Port Huron, Michigan at the age of two with his family....
    , 1971-1975
  • Clifford W. Taylor, 1997-2009
  • Harry S. Toy, 1935-1936
  • Josiah Turner, 1857
  • John D. Voelker
    John D. Voelker

    John D. Voelker , better known by his pen name Robert Traver, was an Lawyer, judge, and novelist. He is best known as the author of the novel, Anatomy of a Murder published in 1958....
    , (a/k/a Robert Traver) 1957-1959
  • Thomas A. E. Weadock
    Thomas A. E. Weadock

    Thomas Addis Emmet Weadock was a judge and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Weadock was born in Ballygarret, County Wexford, Ireland and immigrated to the United States in infancy with his parents, Lewis Weadock and Mary Weadock, who settled on a farm near St....
    , 1933
  • Charles W. Whipple, 1839-1855
  • Howard Wiest, 1921-1945
  • Ross Wilkins
    Ross Wilkins

    Ross Wilkins was an United States politician and lawyer from Pennsylvania, who later served as a United States territory and United States district court judge in the U.S....
    , 1832-1837 (Territorial Justice)
  • G. Mennen Williams
    G. Mennen Williams

    Gerhard Mennen Williams, also known as Soapy Williams, , was a politician from the U.S. State of Michigan. In his role as "Soapy", he was especially known for his trademark bow tie, shown in the photo of him in this article....
    , 1970-1987
  • Edward H. C. Wilson, 1856-1857
  • Warner Wing, 1845-1856
  • Benjamin F. H. Witherell
    Benjamin F. H. Witherell

    Benjamin Franklin Hawkins Witherell was a jurist in the U.S. state of Michigan. He served as a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court in 1857....
    , 1857
  • James Witherell
    James Witherell

    James Witherell was a United States Representative from Vermont. He was born in Mansfield, Massachusetts. After completing preparatory studies, he served in the Continental Army 1775-1783 during the American Revolutionary War....
     1808-1828 (Territorial Justice)
  • William Woodbridge
    William Woodbridge

    William Woodbridge was a United States statesman in the states of Ohio and Michigan and in the Michigan Territory prior to statehood. He served as Governor and as U.S....
    , 1828-1832 (Territorial Justice)
  • Augustus B. Woodward, 1805-1824 (1st Territorial Justice)


Additional reading

  • Noto, Scott A. A Brief History of the Michigan Supreme Court. (Lansing: Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society, 2001).


See also

Category:Michigan Supreme Court justices

External links