Posted on Wed, Oct 17, 2012 : 4:04 p.m.
McCormack has courtroom background to succeed with Michigan Supreme Court
By Letters to the Editor
This Election Day I won’t be a statistic. I’m voting for Bridget Mary McCormack.
Each election around 25 percent of voters fail to cast a vote on the non-partisan section of the ballot. Many important elections, including our Michigan Supreme Court, are listed on the non-partisan section. The Court affects everything from pensions and insurance to our environment and consumer protection.
McCormack is a legal educator and scholar who has spent thousands of hours in the courtroom and who believes everyone deserves a fair shake in our courts. She has the intellectual chops as well as the real world experience to serve on the Court.
On Nov. 6 I won’t give my ballot back until I vote McCormack for Michigan Supreme Court.
Danny Tai
Ann Arbor
Comments
J. Sorensen
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 4:27 a.m.
I did my research and believe she is more than qualified for this position. She, Kelley & Johnson have my support. As far as working from a non-partisan perspective regardless of your personal voting record, I do that every day at work myself. Party lines do not play into (in my opinion) decisions based on right/wrong, ethics and the law. She played a big role in releasing wrongly convicted prisoners, not a party issue. Try to look at the non-partisan part of your ballot from a non-partisan point of view. Above all, please vote! I haven't missed an election in 30 yrs and think it's shameful how many people don't see voting as a responsibility.
PineyWoodsGuy
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 3:56 a.m.
Bridget will be Elected to the Supreme Court! She is Irish. Dig? Plus the Obama Surge will help her!
Michigan Reader
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 12:13 a.m.
Danny, you're going to be a statistic whether you like it or not. You'll be one of the roughly 75% of the registered voters who actually votes, or one of the roughly 25% of registered voters who doesn't vote. She may have the intellectual chops, but Democrats USUALLY interpret broadly when it should be narrowly, and narrowly when it should be broadly. Think "plain language", words and phrases are supposed to have the concrete meaning as expressed in the statute.
Michigan Reader
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 1:13 a.m.
I should have said, "You'll be one of the roughly 75% of the registered voters who votes in the non-partisan section, or one of the roughly 25% of registered voters who doesn't vote in the non-partisan section."
observer
Wed, Oct 17, 2012 : 9:11 p.m.
might she be a democrat........shocking......that she is indorsed here......
ordmad
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 4:03 a.m.
It's a letter to the editor not an op-ed piece. There is no endorsement. I wish there was a way to build an IQ test in that required folks to read the article before they were allowed to comment.
Top Cat
Wed, Oct 17, 2012 : 8:27 p.m.
Bridget has no experience as a "judge." So is the Michigan Supreme Court a good place for a teacher to get her training wheels as a judge ? Come on. As well, forget the non-partisan baloney, she is a Democrat.
nuseph
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 3:17 a.m.
Being a judge doesn't mean being Solomon. It means being able to do analyze complex legal issues and render decisions that are consistent with statute and precedent. I've dealt with plenty of experienced judges whose skills on this front couldn't compare to hers.
West Side Mom
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 12:52 a.m.
Supreme Court Justices do not conduct trials. They read briefs, hear oral arguments and decide whether a lower court got it right or wrong as a matter of law. Law professors - especially one who has taught legions of young lawyers how to try cases in the Michigan - is more than adequately prepared to do the job.
Tom Wieder
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 12:04 a.m.
To get on the ballot to run for Michigan Supreme Court, you have to be nominated by a political party, but the names appear on the non-partisan part of the ballot. Odd? Stupid? Pick your adjective, but that's what the Michigan Constitution provides. So, yes, McCormack is a Democrat, as are Judges Kelley and Johnson, and there are 3 candidates nominated by the GOP. The letter writer was simply telling readers that they have to go to the nonpartisan section of the ballot to vote for Supreme Court, not that the candidates, including McCormack, don't have partisan affiliations, because they all do.
CLX
Wed, Oct 17, 2012 : 11:37 p.m.
Many United States Supreme Court justices were not judges before getting the job. Considering how the judges in this state have performed and what little regard they have shown to the actual laws of the state, I think she would be a refreshing change. She's highly intelligent and has spent her career protecting those who can't afford over-priced attorneys.
The Secret Team
Wed, Oct 17, 2012 : 8:22 p.m.
Absolutely agreed about the necessity for all citizens to not only register, but actually vote on Election Day. Bridget McCormack is openly endorsing Timothy P Connors for circuit judge in Ann Arbor this election; Connors is running against Ann Arbor resident Michael Woodyard, a veteran prosecutor with an anti-corruption unit Michael Woodyard is clearly the superior candidate and McCormack's endorsement shows poor judgment. She loses my vote in her quest for a Michigan Supreme Court seat.
The Secret Team
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 4:48 a.m.
@lsl: Check out "My Opponents Record" on the www.woodyard4judge.com campaign website. Mike Woodyard references numerous Michigan Court of Appeals reversals against Connors there as well as a Judicial Tenure Commission citation involving Connors. Why should voters retain Connors with that record that Mike Woodyard's website alludes to?
lsl
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 2:20 a.m.
Michael Woodyard has no business running for a judicial seat - he has no civil experience whatsoever. During a candidates' forum he was absolutely unable to express any position with regard to summary disposition - he did not even know what it is. (For those of you who are not attorneys, summary disposition is the analytical mechanism that resolves a majority of civil cases.) This is inexcusable. It would be tantamount to applying for a computer programming job without knowing what the internet is.
ordmad
Wed, Oct 17, 2012 : 8:19 p.m.
She's the one truly easy choice we have come election day.