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)….