Justice Elizabeth Clement: Conscience over consequences
Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement announced Wednesday that she will retire by the end of April.
Clement was appointed to the job by former Gov. Rick Snyder in November 2017. The following year she ran for election and won an eight-year term. After Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack retired, Clement was elected by her colleagues to serve as chief justice.
Clement, 47, of East Lansing, will become the next president of the National Center for State Courts in the spring.
Clement is one of two Republican-nominated justices on the bench. The Democrats have a 5-2 edge. The retirement will open the door for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to appoint a justice.
Whitmer issued a statement Wednesday, saying:
“Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement has been a dedicated public servant for almost two decades and served the people of Michigan admirably in all three branches of state government."
“Throughout her distinguished tenure on the Michigan Supreme Court, Chief Justice Clement was an independent minded jurist who upheld the rule of law, protected our constitutional values, and stood strong for the principles of justice. Notably, she cemented equal protections for all Michiganders in state law regardless of who they love when she authored Rouch World v Department of Civil Rights, which held that the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."
Before joining the court, she worked for the Snyder administration as chief legal counsel, cabinet secretary, and deputy chief of staff.
