{"id":2405127,"date":"2025-02-21T11:35:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T16:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigan-supreme-court-justice-resignation-paves-way-for-expanded-liberal-majority\/"},"modified":"2025-02-21T11:35:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T16:35:47","slug":"michigan-supreme-court-justice-resignation-paves-way-for-expanded-liberal-majority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigan-supreme-court-justice-resignation-paves-way-for-expanded-liberal-majority\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Supreme Court justice resignation paves way for expanded liberal majority"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmichigan-supreme-court-justice-resignation-paves-way-for-expanded-liberal-majority%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2405127&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The resignation of Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement from the Michigan\u2063 Supreme Court opens the door for \u2064governor Gretchen Whitmer to appoint another\u200c Democrat,\u200d perhaps solidifying a liberal \u2062supermajority in \u2062the court. Currently, the court has a 5-2 Democratic majority, and \u200cwith ClementS departure, Whitmer\u2062 can fill the vacancy,\u2064 which would allow for a 6-1 advantage in favor\u2064 of Democratic-backed \u2063justices. \u200cClement, appointed by former Republican\u2064 Governor\u200d Rick\u2064 Snyder in 2017\u2064 and having served as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kari-lake-files-new-election-appeal-to-the-arizona-supreme-court\/\" title=\"Kari Lake appeals election to AZ Supreme ....\">chief\u200c justice<\/a> since 2022, expressed gratitude for her colleagues but did\u2062 not specify her reasons \u200dfor resigning. Governor Whitmer praised Clement&#8217;s contributions and highlighted her role in <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">promoting equal protections<\/a> under \u200cstate law. The new appointee will\u200b need to run for retention in 2026 \u200bto \u2062secure a full eight-year term.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Michigan Supreme Court justice resignation paves way for Whitmer to expand liberal majority<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1958052\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The chief justice on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michigan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Michigan<\/a> Supreme Court is resigning, lighting the path for a liberal supermajority.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The court is currently 5-2 with Democratic-backed justices in the majority, but Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement&rsquo;s impending resignation gives room for Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gretchen-whitmer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Gretchen Whitmer <\/a>(D-MI) to appoint another Democratic-backed candidate to the high court. Clement was appointed by the state&rsquo;s former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Leading our state&rsquo;s highest court has been an opportunity to continue a proud record of independence, fairness, and commitment to the rule of law,&rdquo; Clement said in a statement. &ldquo;I am thankful to my colleagues for their support and friendship, as well as for their willingness to seek common ground in serving the people of Michigan.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Going forward, my plan is to continue working to find ways to bring people together, to put data to work, and to make a difference in the lives of people so that interactions with our justice system result in safer communities and stronger families,&rdquo; Clement said.<\/p>\n<p>Clement did not provide an exact reason for her decision. She was first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/al-franken-crawls-out-of-his-hole-to-attack-democracy-calling-scotus-illegitimate\/\" title=\"Al Franken emerges to criticize democracy, labels SCOTUS illegitimate.\">appointed chief justice<\/a> in 2022 by a unanimous vote from her fellow justices.<\/p>\n<p>Whitmer now has the opportunity to appoint a justice to fill the vacancy, which would create a 6-1 majority of Democratic-backed justices. That person would then run for retention in 2026 to serve a full eight-year term, per Michigan law.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While Michigan Supreme Court justices are technically nonpartisan, they are nominated by parties every eight years or appointed by the governor when there is a vacancy. The liberal majority was most recently expanded after Democrats picked up a seat in the 2024 election.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3252920\/republicans-turn-next-year-governor-battle-party-2024-success\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>REPUBLICANS TURN TO 2025 GOVERNOR BATTLES AS PARTY LOOKS TO RIDE 2024 SUCCESS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In a statement, Whitmer commended Clement&rsquo;s time on the court saying &ldquo;Throughout her distinguished tenure on the Michigan Supreme Court, Chief Justice Clement was an independent minded jurist who upheld the rule of law, protected our constitutional values, and stood strong for the principles of justice.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Notably, she cemented equal protections for all Michiganders in state law regardless of who they love when she authored <em>Rouch World v Department of Civil Rights<\/em>, which held that the state&rsquo;s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,&rdquo; Whitmer said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1958052\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1958052\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michigan Supreme Court justice resigns, allowing Whitmer to boost liberal majority<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2405128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/elizabeth-clement.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50814,50815,4601,5894,32275],"class_list":["post-2405127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-justice-resignation","tag-liberal-majority","tag-michigan","tag-politics","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/elizabeth-clement.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2405127"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2405131,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405127\/revisions\/2405131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2405128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2405127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2405127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2405127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}