Young becomes Chief Justice of Michigan Supreme Court

Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert P. Young has been selected to serve as the Chief Justice of the court.

Young was first appointed to the court in 1999 by then-Gov. John Engler. He was re-elected in 2002, and again in 2010. His race for re-election in 2010 was hampered with allegations he used a racially charged term during deliberations. Former Justice Elizabeth Weaver released transcripts and audio recordings of Young’s comments in October. After the election, the Justices voted to censure Weaver for the recordings.

As the new Chief Justice, Young says he will focus on budgetary issues.

“The question is how we maintain essential services to the public despite the dire fiscal circumstances threatening state and local governments,” Young said. “As chief justice, I intend to ensure that the public funds devoted to the judiciary are wisely spent to provide and improve the judicial services our constitution mandates that our citizens receive.”

Young said the court will look for consolidation of courts in order to save money.

“Budget cutting alone will not be enough. Frankly, we simply have to reduce the number of judgeships where the workload no longer justifies their continuation. We also have to more aggressively employ court consolidation for greater efficiency,” Young said. “We need to build on our recent successes and continue to extend technology to improve the functioning and the structure of the Michigan court system. There is room for meaningful change and improvement in the third branch of government, even as we do our part to address the state’s budget crisis.”

Young is a Republican, and currently has a four person majority on the seven person court. However, Justice Maura Corrigan is expected to accept an appointment by Gov. Rick Snyer to lead the Department of Human Services. If she does, Snyder will have to select a new Justice to serve Corrigan’s term. That could impact the court’s majority, depending on who is appointed.

The Michigan Democratic Party issued a press release about Young’s selection. The party had targeted Young during the 2010 election.

“The new Court majority has spoken loud and clear with this decision – the Court will go back to its ways of protecting insurance companies, corporations, sexual predators, and polluters over the people of Michigan. Bob Young is a very poor choice to lead Michigan’s Supreme Court,” said Mark Brewer, chair of the party. ” It’s a sad day for the Michigan Supreme Court and the people of this great state.”