Endorsement: Free Press picks for Michigan Supreme Court

Four candidates are competing for two spots on the Michigan Supreme Court.

The seven justices serving on the state supreme court are the final authority in matters of state law, ruling on questions from whether the state’s civil rights law banning sex-based discrimination applies to sexual orientation — it does, the court ruled in 2022 — or on the constitutionality of the controversial legislative “adopt and amend” process this year — it didn't pass muster.

The high court also oversees the lower courts, establishes procedural rules for all Michigan courts and rules on requests of the Judicial Tenure Commission to remove judges from the bench for misconduct.

It’s a peculiarity of Michigan politics — and can be a source of confusion for voters — that seats on the court are nonpartisan, but candidates for those seats are nominated by the political parties.

Incumbent Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, nominated by the Democratic Party, was appointed to the bench by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after former Chief Justice Bridget McCormack left the court in 2022. Harris was the highest unseated vote-getter in that year’s election.

William O’Grady, a west Michigan circuit court judge nominated by the Republican Party, is running to unseat Bolden.

University of Michigan law professor and Juvenile Justice Clinic director Kimberly Ann Thomas, nominated by the Democrats, and state Rep. Andrew Fink, R-Hillsdale, nominated by the GOP, are competing for the seat soon to be vacated by retiring justice David Viviano.

Each justice is elected to an eight-year term.

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Kyra Harris Bolden and William O’Grady

Harris Bolden was a state lawmaker before taking the bench, representing Southfield and the surrounding area for two terms, serving on the House Judiciary Committee and introducing several bills related to criminal justice reform that were signed into law. She was a litigator and criminal defense attorney before that.

In her short time on the bench, Bolden has written three majority opinions, one unanimous, demonstrating an ability to gather consensus and the respect of her fellow justices as the least senior member of the court.

Harris Bolden relishes the outreach responsibilities that come with being a Supreme Court justice, helming two task forces on treatment courts and child welfare, working with attorneys, judges, social workers and lawmakers to boost statewide access to resources that can improve outcomes of the court system.

She also speaks regularly at churches and schools on being Michigan’s first Black woman to serve on the state Supreme Court.

Upon her appointment, Harris Bolden hired a former prisoner as a clerk, a move that garnered some controversy, leading to the clerk’s resignation.

Harris Bolden stands by her decision to hire the man.

“I think judges and justices should believe in second chances,” she told the Free Press Editorial Board. “I think that’s an important part of this job, to have compassion and empathy, and not impose life sentences onto people who have not warranted that type of reaction. I think justice requires that when people serve their time, that we allow them to be productive citizens.”

O’Grady is a former Michigan State Trooper who has served on the 15th Circuit Court and probate benches in Branch County.

A self-described “rule of law” judge, O’Grady has been endorsed by former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former President Donald Trump. He describes himself as a “strict textualist” - if you’re not familiar with the lingo, textualists, or originalists, look to a straightforward reading of the original language of the U.S. and state constitutions, in isolation from changing cultural or social conditions, and often accuse their ideological opposites of “judicial activism” or “legislating from the bench.” U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, part of the Dobbs majority that overturned Roe v. Wade, is a notable proponent of originalism.

But it’s the job of judges to interpret the law, not simply recite it. This is, after all, a body that spends time deliberating on the meaning of “must” vs “shall,” or “keep” vs “maintain.”

In two years on the court, KYRA HARRIS BOLDEN has proved a collegial, fair and compassionate jurist. Michigan voters should elect her to a full term.

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Kimberly Ann Thomas and Andrew Fink

Two thoughtful, qualified candidates are contending for the court’s open seat.

Kimberly Ann Thomas, a trial and appellate lawyer, is now a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School, where she leads the school’s Juvenile Justice Clinic. She served on Michigan’s bipartisan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform, and has worked on the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative, developing law school curricula in countries like Turkey and Jordan.

Thomas says she wants to ensure the quality of the justice dispensed by Michigan’s highest court, and points to on-the-ground experience in the state’s lower courts, saying she’d bring real-world insight to the court’s deliberations.

Thomas has a nuanced understanding of a judge’s role, which she says always starts with the law as written, but extends to analysis of legal precedents developed since the law was passed — in Michigan courts, other state Supreme Courts and the U.S. Supreme Court — and interpretations of the law in the briefs filed by each party. If the court veers beyond a textualist interpretation, she says, it must have a real reason or explanation to point to. Rulings must be sound decisions, she explained, but Michiganders must also have faith and confidence in those decisions.

She believes that the seven-member structure of the court is intended to evoke collaborative conversations and decisions.

Thomas has spent significant time among juveniles, through her work on the state task force and in the university clinic, and can be a needed voice of expertise in cases involving the state’s most vulnerable citizens.

State Rep. Andrew Fink, R-Hillsdale, was a U.S. Marine Corps attorney before entering private practice at the family firm in Ypsilanti. He ran for state Legislature in 2020, and is serving his first term in office.

Fink says his candidacy is the next step in a public-service-focused career. He also describes himself as an originalist, a term he says has become “politicized,” and says he would hope to change what he views as “inconsistency” in the court’s current decision-making, which he says is born of “too flexible an approach to how a case should be decided,” but insists that he would work collaboratively and collegially with the court’s other justices.

Among the candidates, Fink stood out in his opposition to virtual court. Although there is near-universal agreement that many significant court proceedings should be conducted in person, virtual court has made it easier for those charged with, for example, low-level traffic offenses to resolve their challenges while juggling work and family.

Regular readers of the Free Press know that the editorial board requires that elected officials uphold democracy at every level and in every branch of government, which is why we frequently ask candidates whom they believe won the 2020 election. In the case of Fink, he set the record straight — and offered a less than sufficient answer.

Another media outlet incorrectly reported that Fink was present at a Jan. 6 Stop the Steal rally in Lansing. Fink provided cellphone data showing he split his time that day between his home in Hillsdale and his law firm in Ann Arbor, and the outlet subsequently corrected the report. But when asked whether President Joe Biden won the 2020 election in an endorsement interview this month, Fink offered a winding answer: “I don’t have any alternative result to that. The guy had, you know, the electoral votes to win, and that’s how you win the presidential election.”

KIMBERLY ANN THOMAS is the better-rounded candidate, with a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of a justice’s role and the needs of the Michiganders she’ll serve.

Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters and we may publish it online and in print. This story was updated to correct a typo.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Endorsement: Free Press picks for 2024 Michigan Supreme Court race