Michigan

Michigan Lawyers Weekly Rates Michigan Supreme Court Justices

In its "first ever high court performance survey", the prominent Michigan legal journal Michigan Lawyers Weekly has released the results of its survey of lawyers who practice before the Michigan Supreme Court regarding the quality of the justices who sit on the state's highest court.

The legal journal conducted its survey between Nov. 28 and Dec. 17, 2007. It contacted every lawyer who appeared before the court during any one of its last six terms and asked them to rate the justices. The journal contacted 774 lawyers, of which 79 took part in the survey.

The survey asked the lawyers to rate the justices on a 1 to 5 scale based on their "overall" performance, how they compare to other justices, as well as on eight defined "judicial characteristics." On the scale, a rating of 5 was "excellent," and 1 was "poor".

Once considered one of the country's top supreme courts, thanks in large part to the contributions of Justice Thomas Cooley, the Michigan Supreme Court has in recent years been criticized by some as being an an overly enthusiastic participant in "tort reform". These critics claim that the court has been intellectually inconsistent in its opinions, with a bent toward favoring insurance companies and large corporations to the detriment of Michigan's consumers and working class.

No matter how you feel about the Michigan Supreme Court, or the justices serving on it, the survey published by Michigan Lawyers Weekly is a very interesting piece of reading that anyone interested in Michigan's legal landscape should review.

Full post as published by Michigan Business Lawyer Blog on January 21, 2008 (boomark / email).