Judge’s Acceptance of Donation From Michigan Secretary of State Spurs Call for Ethics Probe

The donation arrived as the judge was on a panel considering an appeal filed by the secretary of state.

The Hall of Justice building in downtown Lansing, Mich., on Aug. 17, 2018. The building is home to the Michigan Supreme Court. Shutterstock

Two Republican election integrity activists on Oct. 1 requested an investigation into a campaign donation received by a Michigan State Supreme Court justice from a PAC tied to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

Braden Giacobazzi and former state Sen. Patrick Colbeck sent a formal request on Oct. 1 to the Judicial Tenure Commission, a panel that oversees the conduct of judges, asking it to look into Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden regarding the propriety of an $82,500 donation received by her campaign.

According to Bolden’s campaign committee, the donation was received on May 17, 2024, from the Michigan Legacy PAC, which was founded by Benson. The PAC’s finance reports show that $82,500 was donated on April 26, 2024, to the Keep Kyra Harris Bolden for Justice committee.

The activists said the donation should be investigated because Bolden accepted it when the seven-member Supreme Court was deciding an appeal filed by Benson in November 2023, which was granted by the court with a 5–2 majority in August 2024.

The ruling overturned a decision by the Michigan Court of Claims, and a subsequent 3–0 Michigan Court of Appeals ruling upholding the lower court’s decision, that Benson’s guidance regarding poll challengers violated state law and, therefore, had to be modified.

The activists said the decision will eliminate effective oversight of the conduct of elections by poll challengers.

Bolden’s office referred inquiries to the spokesman for the Michigan Supreme Court, John Niven, who declined to comment.

Bolden, a Democrat, is a former state representative and criminal defense attorney from the Detroit area. She ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court in November 2022.

Weeks after that election, she was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to serve for a portion of the unexpired term of retiring Justice Bridget McCormack.

Bolden is running in the upcoming Nov. 5 election to retain her position until Jan. 1, 2029.

On Oct. 11, Colbeck also submitted a request for an investigation of Benson, who is a lawyer, to the State of Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission, a group that oversees the ethics of lawyers.

In his request for investigation, Colbeck alleged Benson’s campaign donation to a Michigan Supreme Court Justice at a time when the court had a lawsuit with Benson as a defendant before it “constitutes a serious ethics violation and misconduct as a member of the Michigan Bar Association.”

Benson did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. The Michigan Legacy PAC could not be reached by phone or email.