Weekly/biweekly Michigan legislative action thread
Posted on 02/27/2013 4:30:23 PM PST by equaviator
Macomb County Chief Circuit Judge David Viviano has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the Michigan Supreme Court.
Gov. Rick Snyder announced the appointment at 3 p.m. Wednesday in a livestreamed event.
"This is a tremendous honor for me, for my entire family," Viviano said. "I am committed to the rule of law. I believe in the separation of powers."
Viviano replaces former Justice Diane Hathaway, who resigned in January amid charges of fraud regarding a home she owns.
"He's truly a rule of law judge, which is critically important," Snyder said.
Snyder said the candidates for the state's highest court were carefully vetted.
But in picking Viviano, the governor bypassed Oakland Circuit Judge Colleen O'Brien, who was a Republican Party nominee for the high court in the last election, but didn't get enough votes to get either of the two eight-year terms up for election.
She finished behind incumbent Stephen Markman and Democrat-nominated candidate Bridget Mary McCormack.
And although supreme court justices are technically nonpartisan, Snyder's appointment of Viviano gives the high court a 5-2 bias towards justices who were either nominated by Republicans or appointed by the Republican governor.
Viviano was elected to the Macomb County circuit bench in 2006.
His father was a Macomb County judge, and his sister is.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, immediately praised Viviano's appointment to the court.
"He understands the law, brings an even temperament and will serve the people of Michigan with the highest standards of excellence," Schuette said.
Viviano, just re-elected to a six-year term on the Macomb circuit bench, will have to run for the Supreme Court again in 2014 before being able to seek a full eight-year term in 2016.
I'm not. They're Democrats. That's standard operating procedure in both Chicago and Detroit. Should I name names?
Thanks equaviator.
Whoops, thanks cripplecreek!
This guy is a Hillsdale college grad so he’s probably got a great grasp on the constitution.
Why do they always go with someone from Detroit?
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