MICHIGAN, USA — Five candidates are competing for two seats on the Michigan Supreme Court in the November midterm election.
While the Michigan Supreme Court is considered a nonpartisan position, its members are nominated for candidacy by the major parties and the governor also can appoint justices when needed.
Democrats and Republicans both nominated two candidates and the Libertarians nominated a single candidate to run for the position.
Currently, the Michigan Supreme Court has a liberal majority, with four liberal-leaning justices and three conservative-leaning.
Parties will nominate candidates for the Supreme Court when seats are open and Michiganders vote to decide which candidates will serve the eight year term.
Chief Justice McCormack announced her retirement earlier this year and will be replaced by an appointee from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The appointee will not need to be confirmed by the legislature and will serve until 2024, when voters will have the opportunity to elect a new justice to serve a full term.
Republican Candidates for Michigan Supreme Court
Brian Zahra (Incumbent)
Brian Zahra is an incumbent candidate for the high court and has served on the bench since 2011, when he was appointed by former-Governor Rick Snyder. Zahra was later elected to a partial term in 2012 and then elected again for a full term in 2014.
Zahra earned his law degree from the University of Detroit Law School after finishing is undergraduate studies at Wayne State University. He would then serve on the Wayne County Circuit Court for for years, followed by serving on the Michigan Court of Appeals for 12 years, before being appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court in 2011.
Justice Zahra notes that he is the only Justice who brought previous judicial experience to the Michigan Supreme Court. He says that this, combined with his administrative expertise can offer a lot to the people of Michigan and the high court.
"My role as a judge is to determine what the law is, not what the law should be," Zahra says on his campaign website.
Justice Zahra currently serves on the Michigan Civil Jury Instructions Committee, Circuit Court Appellate Rules Committee, Domestic Violence Legislation Implementation Task Force, Advisory committee for the Michigan Judicial Institute Domestic Violence, Benchbook and Michigan Board of Law Examiners.
Key decisions from 2022:
- Promote the Vote 2022 v Board of State Canvassers
- Dissented from the decision in favor of Promote the Vote 2022
- Reproductive Freedom for All v Board of State Canvassers
- Dissented from the decision in favor of Reproductive Freedom for All
- Rouch World, LLC v Department of Civil Rights
- Dissented from the decision in favor of the Department of Civil Rights
Paul Hudson
Paul Hudson is a appellate lawyer for the Law Firm of Miller Canfield and chairs the firm's Appeals group. Hudson has argued more than 150 cases in the Michigan appeals courts during his career.
Hudson graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center after receiving his B.A. in Government and Philosophy from Cornell University. While at Cornell, he played catcher on the university's baseball team.
He believes that the Michigan's Supreme Court Justices should be nonpartisan and not "extreme politicians dressed up in robes."
“I entered this race because the people of Michigan deserve the most qualified and experienced candidates serving on their highest court. Our state deserves justices who will be fair, impartial, and consistent in their rulings,” said Hudson when he launched his campaign in August.
Hudson serves as the chair of the Advisory Committee on Rules and has also served on the State Bar of Michigan's Appellate Practice Council and the American Bar Association's Appellate Practice Committee.
Democratic Candidates for Michigan Supreme Court
Richard Bernstein (Incumbent)
Richard Bernstein is an incumbent candidate for Michigan's Supreme Court who was first elected to the position in November of 2014. Prior to his time serving as a Justice, Bernstein was an attorney heading the public service division of his family's law firm, The Sam Bernstein Law Firm.
Bernstein earned his law degree from the Northwestern University School of Law after completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan. He graduated summa cum laude from U of M where he was also the student body president of the College of Literature, Science and Arts.
He believes that a Supreme Court Justice should ensure that everyone recieves equal treatment under the law.
“I was born legally blind and my unique life challenge has helped fuel my passion for fairness and driven my professional, legal, and public service work. I believe in justice that is blind to ideology, blind to special interests, and blind to partisan politics," Bernstein says on his campaign's website.
Bernstein has served on the Wayne State University Board of Governors and has taught as an adjunct professor in the political science department at the University of Michigan.
Key decisions from 2022:
- Promote the Vote 2022 v Board of State Canvassers
- Concurred with the decision in favor of Promote the Vote 2022
- Reproductive Freedom for All v Board of State Canvassers
- Concurred with the decision in favor of Reproductive Freedom for All
- Rouch World, LLC v Department of Civil Rights
- Concurred with the decision in favor of the Department of Civil Rights
Kyra Harris Bolden
Kyra Harris Bolden is the Michigan State Representative for the 35th House District, where she is currently serving her second term. Bolden is also an attorney who specialized in civil litigation.
Bolden earned her Juris Doctor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law after receiving her Bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University.
Bolden notes that in her time in office, she has helped pass five bipartisan bills focusing on criminal justice reform and protecting survivors of sexual assault and violence. She also says that she has been an active member of her community throughout her life and time in office.
"I want to take my community service and my public service to the Supreme Court," she said during a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Michigan and the Jewish Bar Association of Michigan.
She is serving as a member of the National Congress of Black Women-Oakland County, the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and is a commissioner of the Total Living Commission for the city of Southfield.
Libertarian Candidate for Michigan Supreme Court
Kerry Lee Morgan
Kerry Lee Morgan is the only candidate for Supreme Court nominated by the Libertarian Party of Michigan. He is an attorney and currently is Of Counsel to Pentiuk, Couvreur & Kobiljak, P.C.
Morgan attended Michigan State University for his Bachelor's degree and received his law degree from Detroit College of Law. He would then continue his education and receive a master's degree in public policy from Regent University, where he graduated magna cum laude.
He is a firm believer that judges need to be impartial and that a current problem with the courts is judges and justices exceeding the authority of the judicial branch due to a "moral confusion" of activism.
“The thing that qualifies one to be a judge is not so much that experience but the fact that they're committed to the practice of reading statutes and reading executive orders and reading the law and trying to clearly understand what it meant to those who adopted it,” said Morgan.
Morgan has served as an Attorney-Advisor with the United States Commission on Civil Rights and also served as the Director of the U.S. Bicentennial Project for Regent University.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
