Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack to resign

Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack will step down from the bench after 10 years, she announced Monday, explaining her plans to resign by the end of the year.

She said she would step down no earlier than Nov. 22 and no later than Dec. 31. She didn’t explain the gap, according to a press release issued by the Michigan Supreme Court.

“After a decade, the time has come for me to move on, to let others lead and to build on a foundation of progress,” McCormack said in the release.

In Michigan, governors choose new justices when someone resigns.

McCormack became the 108th justice—and the ninth woman—to join the court when she was sworn in on Jan. 1, 2013. She has served as chief justice since Jan. 2019—the sixth woman to do so.

McCormack has served as vice president of the Conference of Chief Justices and chairs many conference initiatives, according to the court. She is the vice chair of the American Bar Association Council on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar and an advisor on the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Access to Justice Project. She is also a senior strategist in the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s Future of the Legal Profession Initiative.

Before her election to the court, she was a law professor and associate dean at the University of Michigan Law School, where she continues to teach.

In a letter to the judiciary, including nearly 600 trial court judges statewide, she wrote: “I want to express my gratitude for your hard work and dedication to Michigan’s judiciary and the people it serves. Most of all, I am proud of our work to make courts more accessible. You have proven that justice is not a place, but a process and that the process must be navigable to those whom our system of justice serves. Thanks to all of you, I am confident that Michigan will continue to be a national leader in access to justice.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called McCormack a “phenomenal public servant,” in a press release issued by Whitmer’s office on Monday. 

“We will ensure a smooth transition for Chief Justice McCormack,” Whitmer said in the release. “In the coming months, I will appoint a new justice with Michigan values and an unwavering commitment to the Michigan constitution who can be an arbiter of justice and live up to the great responsibility that comes with the role.”

Justice Elizabeth Clement, a Republican, said McCormack has been independent and fair.

“In a world that has become increasing partisan and angry, she is a voice of reason, compassion and thoughtfulness,” Clement said in a written statement. “I will miss her on the Court.”

McCormack has made no announcement yet about her future, according to the court. By tradition, chief justices typically serve two, 2-year terms.