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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Eclectablog (subscribe to Eclectablog on Facebook)
Michigan Democratic leaders urge Gov. Rick Snyder to veto the court-rigging SB 652
By Amy Lynn Smith on November 11, 2013 in Michigan Democrats, Michigan Republicans, Rick Snyder
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They know what democracy looks like. If Gov. Snyder signs this bill into law, it will prove once again that he doesn’t.[/b]
The speed at which Republicans rammed through Senate Bill 652 is enough to give anyone legislative whiplash. And when bills are rushed through that quickly for no good reason, you can bet there’s something rotten in Lansing.
SB 652 moves the Michigan Court of Claims to the Michigan Court of Appeals, restructuring the Court of Claims in a way that lets a political party in power hand-pick the judges who hear cases against the state of Michigan. In other words, Republicans are trying to rig the courts in their favor, as I wrote here last week. Republicans claim the reason for the move is that only three percent of Michiganders get to vote for judges in the Court of Claims. But by moving it to the Court of Appeals, zero percent get to vote for them. Instead, the cases will be handled by GOP-nominated judges.
It’s a move that’s questionable at best and unconstitutional at worst. No one’s quite sure yet, because the bill sped through the legislature so swiftly. That’s why House Democratic Leader Tim Greimel and Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer wrote to Gov. Snyder, urging him to veto SB 652.
We write to you today to strongly encourage you to veto Senate Bill 652, which would move the Michigan Court of Claims to the Michigan Court of Appeals. Making this unprecedented change to our court system is a breach of the separation of powers in state government, a breach of the public trust and partisan politics masquerading as good government.
Senate Bill 652 will make it extremely difficult for Michigan citizens to challenge the constitutionality of controversial laws, which is their right under the Michigan Constitution. It will make it much more difficult for citizens and organizations to file Freedom of Information Act requests, which is also their right. Moving this court to the Court of Appeals will shatter our citizens’ trust in their government and the courts because judges who will hear these cases will be hand‐picked by the Republican‐led Michigan Supreme Court.
Signing Senate Bill 652 into law is a blow against government transparency and accountability. Many of Michigan’s major newspapers, including the Detroit Free Press, the Lansing State Journal and the Battle Creek Enquirer all opined against this move, calling it an extreme overreach of judicial powers and a political agenda rather than good government. Judges and lawyers have also testified and spoken against this move, describing it as ill‐advised in terms of court function and accessibility to citizens.
The speed with which this bill went through the legislative process is a clear indication that its supporters understand just how controversial and questionable this move is. If you sign this bill into law, you will send the message to our citizens that their ability to fully participate in our democracy is unimportant. We can’t think of a worse message to give to the hard‐working citizens of this great state.
As the governor of our state, who is sworn to uphold its laws and who promises on the Open Michigan website that “Michigan is committed to an ‘open door’ approach to government,” you have an obligation to veto SB 652.
Make your own voice heard before it’s too late. Contact Governor Snyder to let him know you oppose this legislation and ask him to veto it.
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Mon Nov 11, 2013 9:55 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Gov. Snyder signs court shake-up bill; Ingham judge says new law is 'payback'
7:32 PM, November 12, 2013 |
Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette said he is 'very, very disillusioned at the manner in which this legislation came about, the manner in which it was shoved down the throats of the people of Michigan and the damage it's going to cause the entire judicial system.' / Rod Sanford/Lansing State Journal
By Paul Egan
Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau
LANSING — Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday signed into law Public Act 164 shaking up the state court system — a law an Ingham County judge denounced as “payback” for standing up to the Snyder administration.
Snyder told reporters that a revamped Court of Claims — housed in the Michigan Court of Appeals rather than Ingham County Circuit Court — will be an improvement over the current system because it will ensure that significant cases involving the state will be heard by judges elected by a wider swath of the Michigan electorate.
But Snyder also said he signed the Senate bill into law with the understanding that amending legislation will be introduced to address at least one of the concerns raised about the bill.
Though legal challenges are expected, the law has immediate effect. That means all of the roughly 100 lawsuits involving the State of Michigan now in the Court of Claims in Ingham County will be shifted to Court of Appeals judges selected by the Michigan Supreme Court.
The law also expands the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, meaning an unknown number of other lawsuits against the state now in circuit courts around Michigan also will be moved to the revamped Court of Claims.
Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette — who has made rulings both for and against Snyder in recent highly publicized cases involving the emergency manager law and the selection of Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr — said he is “very, very disillusioned at the manner in which this legislation came about, the manner in which it was shoved down the throats of the people of Michigan and the damage it’s going to cause the entire judicial system.”
“This is nothing but payback for having the gall to stand up to them,” Collette said.
Snyder told reporters he doesn’t know how many court cases now in state circuit courts will be moved to Court of Appeals judges as a result of the legislation that was rushed through the Legislature in two weeks on mostly party-line votes.
But he defended the speed with which the law was passed, even as he said he understands amending legislation is on its way. Snyder said he doesn’t know all the details of the “trailer bill,” but said he understands it will protect the right to a jury trial for lawsuits against the state that are now in the circuit courts.
A jury trial was already not an option in the Court of Claims. Among the criticisms of the bill was that it could deprive the right to a jury trial in certain state lawsuits formerly held outside the Court of Claims where trial by jury is normally an option.
“I thought it was an improvement over the existing practice,” Snyder said of the bill. “It’s better to have a wider range of judges” hearing cases, but “I signed it with the understanding there would be follow-up legislation.”
Proponents of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, said it makes no sense to have the Court of Claims in a jurisdiction — Democratic-leaning Ingham County — elected by only 3% of state residents.
Now, those cases and others will be heard by one of four Michigan Court of Appeals judges selected by the Michigan Supreme Court, where Republican-nominated justices hold a 5-2 majority.
Many legal critics said there were problems with having the court in Ingham County, but said the cure is worse than the sickness in terms of partisan influence on the court system. Critics also said the Court of Appeals is not well-equipped to act as a trial court, and it’s problematic to have appeals of decisions made by Court of Appeals judges sent to other Court of Appeals judges, as will happen under the new law.
Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, described the new law as “a disgraceful assault on our constitution.”
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com
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Wed Nov 13, 2013 1:18 am |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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mlive.com
New Michigan Court of Claims features judges with both Republican, Democratic ties
Jonathan Oosting | joosting@mlive.com By Jonathan Oosting | joosting@mlive.com
on November 13, 2013 at 12:41 PM, updated November 13, 2013 at 12:59 PM
LANSING, MI -- The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday named four Court of Appeals judges who will be randomly assigned to hear suits against the state under a controversial new law signed this week by Gov. Rick Snyder.
The new Court of Claims will be overseen by Court of Appeals Judges Pat Donofrio, Amy Krause, Deborah Servitto and Michael Talbot.
Two originally were appointed by a Republican governor before winning election, and two were appointed by a Democrat.
Combined, they represent three of the state's four Court of Appeals districts. Only District 3, which is based in Grand Rapids, is not represented on the new Court of Claims.
Chief Justice Robert Young Jr. said in a release that the four judges were chosen unanimously by the seven-member Supreme Court due to "their outstanding legal ability, including their diverse experiences as former trial judges managing trial dockets, since the Court of Claims operates as a trial court."
The bipartisan selections appear to mitigate at least one of the concerns raised by critics of the new law, who had worried the Republican-led Supreme Court would select only Republican judges likely to uphold laws passed by the Republican-led Legislature.
The Ingham County Circuit Court, where judges are elected by a voting bloc that tends to favor Democrats, had served as Michigan's Court of Claims since the late 1970s.
Talbot, who will serve as the chief judge of the new-look Court of Claims, is a former Wayne County Circiurt Court judge who was appointed to the Court of Appeals by former Gov. John Engler in 1988.
Donofrio, a former Macomb County judge, was first appointed to the Court of Appeals by Engler in 2002.
Servito worked as a District Court judge in Warren and for the Macomb County Circuit Court. Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed her to the Court of Appeals in 2006.
Krause is a former District Court judge in Lansing before Granholm appointed here to the Court of Appeals in 2010.
Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter.
© 2013 MLive.com. All rights reserved.
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From the Comments section:
Jonathan Oosting | joosting@mlive.com
Here are some bios via the MSC:
Judge Pat M. Donofrio. Donofrio was a Macomb County Circuit judge, and served as presiding judge of the court’s civil/criminal division, before his appointment to the Court of Appeals in 2002 by Governor John Engler. He was elected to the Court of Appeals in 2004 and 2010. Donofrio, who earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Wayne State University, was in private practice as a litigator before becoming a judge. He has been on the faculty for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the National Judicial College, and the Michigan Judicial Institute. Donofrio has served on the Michigan Supreme Court Committee on Model Civil Jury Instructions and on the Michigan Supreme Court Task Force on Trial Court Performance Standards.
Judge Amy Ronayne Krause. Ronayne Krause was appointed to the Court of Appeals in December 2010 by Governor Jennifer Granholm; Ronayne Krause previously served as a judge of the 54-A District Court in Lansing. Before becoming a judge, Ronayne Krause was in private practice as a litigator; she then served for eight years as an assistant prosecuting attorney. From 1997-2002, she served as an assistant attorney general and was the first recipient of the Frank J. Kelley Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy. An adjunct professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Ronayne Krause earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her law degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Judge Deborah A. Servitto. Servitto has 27 years’ experience as a judge. She was elected to Warren’s 37th District Court in 1986 and appointed to the Macomb County Circuit Court in 1990 by Governor James Blanchard; Servitto was elected three times to the circuit court. While on the circuit court, Servitto helped launch a drug court and a program aimed at helping children cope with their parents’ divorce. Governor Jennifer Granholm appointed Servitto to the Court of Appeals in March 2006; the judge was elected to the appeals court in November 2006 and re-elected in 2012. Servitto is a graduate of Oakland University and the Detroit College of Law. She is a founding director of Care House, which serves young victims of sexual and physical abuse.
Judge Michael J. Talbot. Talbot, who will serve as the chief, or presiding, judge of the Court of Claims, was a trial judge for 20 years, starting with his 1978 appointment to Detroit Common Pleas Court by Governor William Milliken. Talbot also served on Detroit Recorder’s Court from 1980 until his appointment to the Wayne County Circuit Court in 1991. He was appointed by Governor John Engler to the Court of Appeals in 1998, was elected to the Court of Appeals in 2002, and re-elected in 2008. Talbot helped draft Michigan’s Crime Victim’s Rights Act and was a member of the Judicial Tenure Commission from 2004 to 2010. Talbot is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he earned a degree in public administration, and of the University of Detroit-Mercy School of Law. He currently serves as special judicial administrator of Detroit’s 36th District Court. In 2015, he will begin serving as chief judge of the Court of Appeals.
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Source: http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/11/new_michigan_court_of_claims_f.html
Accessed: November 13, 2013 |
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Wed Nov 13, 2013 7:44 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The Detroit News Metro and State
Wayne County
November 14, 2013 at 5:51 pm
Union activist challenges law shifting claims to Court of Appeals
Chad Livengood
Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Detroit — Litigious union activist Robert Davis filed a federal lawsuit Thursday asking a judge to throw out a change in the state’s court system that he claims was enacted to punish him for getting favorable legal rulings in Ingham County.
Davis’ latest litigation claims his U.S. constitutional right to equal protection is being violated by a new law that shifts the state’s Court of Claims from the Ingham County Circuit Court to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
A group Davis runs called Citizens United Against Corrupt Government sued Gov. Rick Snyder, Attorney General Bill Schuette, the Legislature, the Michigan Court Appeals clerk and an Ingham County judge handling one of Davis’ pending lawsuits against the state.
Public Act 164, signed into law Tuesday by Snyder with immediate effect, sets up a new Court of Claims run by four appellate judges who were appointed on Wednesday by the Michigan Supreme Court. Under the new law, Davis’ Open Meetings Act lawsuit against the Board of State Canvassers would be among 151 circuit court cases to be sent to the new Court of Claims.
Davis’ lawsuit claims Snyder and the Republican-controlled Legislature enacted the law in response to lawsuits he and others brought in Ingham County that “exposed a lack of transparency in defendant governor’s conducting of the public business, and in his heavy handed imposition of the selection of an emergency manager for the city of Detroit to effect that city’s machtergreifung.”
“Machtergreifung” is a German term for the Nazi Party’s seizure of power in the 1930s that gave rise to dictator Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.
“I’m not going to dignify that ridiculous allegation with a reaction other than to say it’s just another in a long line of frivolous Robert Davis lawsuits,” Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said Thursday. “We have full confidence in the strong merits and the constitutionality of the law and that it will provide fairness and greater representation for cases of statewide significance.”
Davis also claims the law’s immediate effect provision violates the state constitution because two-thirds of members of both the House and Senate did not vote for immediate effect. That issue has been in dispute for more than a year because House Republicans don’t have a super majority, but hold a voice vote and declare a two-thirds majority when they want to give a law immediate effect.
Davis filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Thursday, the same day a federal bankruptcy judge his request for “blanket” authority to challenge the legality of Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s appointments, including Police Chief James Craig.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes also issued Davis’ attorney, Andrew Paterson, a stern warning that he and his client could face “sanctions” if they attempt to circumvent his court’s gatekeeper authority over all legal action against Detroit and its elected and appointed officials while the city is in bankruptcy court.
The judge did grant Davis relief from the automatic stay to pursue an appeal over his lawsuit challenging city Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins’ election this summer as council president.
Davis contends the City Council violated the city charter when it elevated Jenkins to the president’s chair while then-President Charles Pugh was still in office, though missing in action and stripped of his pay by Orr. But a Wayne County judge ruled Davis could not unseat Jenkins for the remainder of the year.
During a hearing Thursday morning, Paterson also asked the judge for permission to pursue legal challenges of other city officials, but offered vague details about what his litigious client seeks to do.
“It’s not a certainty, but there’s some questions surrounding the appointment of the chief of police,” Paterson told the judges. “There’s questions surrounding other appointments.”
The judge appeared testy after Paterson showed up to court late — and Davis was not in the courtroom.
“It’s unfathomable to me in a city with the problems this city has that you want to call into question the office of chief of police,” Rhodes told Paterson.
Paterson sheepishly replied that Davis “doesn’t believe” Orr followed unspecified laws.
“It really is your call, not ours,” Paterson told the judge. “I don’t mind coming back each time.”
In opposing Davis’ request, city attorney Stephen LaPlante speculated Davis is looking for legal authority to block the swearing-in of Mayor-elect Mike Duggan after spending most of the mayoral election trying to get Duggan disqualified.
“But if he’s going to be a target, then it may well jeopardize the city’s ability to restructure,” LaPlante told the judge.
Davis works for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 25. In a separate matter, he faces federal charges for allegedly stealing money from the cash-strapped Highland Parks school district.
Last Friday, Rhodes concluded a nine-day trial over whether Detroit is eligible for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy. The judge has not yet ruled on whether the case can proceed.
clivengood@detroitnews.com
(517) 371-3660
http://twitter.com/ChadLivengood
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131114/METRO01/311140089#ixzz2kfxfYMMW |
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Thu Nov 14, 2013 9:06 pm |
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