Michigan Supreme Court justices have unanimously voted to name GOP-appointed judge Elizabeth Clement as the new chief justice following the retirement of Justice Bridget McCormack.
After 10 years on the bench, McCormack announced in September that she would retire from the court at the end of the current term. McCormack will join the American Arbitration Association and the International Center for Dispute Resolution in February as its new president and CEO.
Clement, 45, joined the Michigan Supreme Court on Nov. 17, 2017, becoming the 113th justice and 11th woman to serve on the bench following her appointment by former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.
Prior to winning an eight-year term in 2018, Clement served as legal counsel for Snyder and also in both the legislative and executive branches of the Michigan government. Clement previously recused herself from an opinion related to Snyder’s involvement in the Flint Water Crisis when the court’s remaining justices unanimously sided with former state officials in agreeing that a lower judge had erred in serving as a “one-man grand jury” to indict the officials (including Snyder).
“I appreciate the confidence of my colleagues and look forward to the opportunity to serve as Chief Justice,” Clement said in a statement to Detroit Free Press. “We thank Justice McCormack for her leadership as Chief and for her service to the people of Michigan for the past 10 years.”
Voting with Democratic-Nominated Justices
Although nominated by the Republican Party, Clement has received backlash for her history of siding with Democrat-nominated judges. In August 2018, Clement was booed at the Michigan Republican Convention when her name was brought up for nomination for a full term. Clement later claimed she faced “bullying and intimidation” while deliberating a case that paved the way for a redistricting proposal to go on the November ballot.This measure led to her name and picture being kept off door hangers distributed by the Michigan GOP before the 2018 midterm elections at the request of some volunteers.
Clement has voted with Democrat-nominated justices in several notable decisions, including banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and placing proposals on voting rights and abortion access on the November 2022 ballot.
Supreme court justices will have to vote again at the start of its next term in January on a new chief justice. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has yet to appoint a replacement for McCormack.
Clement resides in East Lansing, Michigan, with her husband and four children. Since May 2016, her husband, Thomas P. Clement, has served as general counsel to the Michigan Supreme Court.
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