Lawyers ask Justice Markman to recuse himself from Emergency Manager case

Attorneys for the group that is fighting Michigan’s Emergency Manager law in state court say that Justice Stephen Markman should recuse himself from the case because his wife is representing the state in a related case pending in federal court.

The Detroit News reports:

Markman’s wife, Kathleen, who works for the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, is one of two lawyers representing state officials in a federal lawsuit in which a city of Detroit pension fund alleges the emergency manager law is unconstitutional.

A recusal by Markman would be significant because it would erase the 4-3 majority on the court held by justices nominated by the Michigan Republican Party.

Michigan’s Code of Judicial Conduct does not directly address such a situation, but the American Bar Association’s Model Code of Judicial Conduct says a judge should recuse himself if he knows his spouse “has more than a de minimis interest that could be substantially affected by the proceeding,” Sugar Law Center lawyers John Philo and Anthony Paris argue in the brief.

The Sugar Law Center, together with representatives of the Center for Constitutional Rights and National Lawyers Guild, represent a group of 28 plaintiffs who argue that the Emergency Manager law, which allows the governor to appoint people to take over local governments, violates the state constitution’s “home rule” provisions and imposes unfair new costs on local governments.

This case was filed in Ingham County court in June but it is unclear whether it will proceed there.

Last month Gov. Rick Snyder asked the Supreme Court to take up the case and rule directly on the questions raised. The high court has not yet announced whether it will take the case.

In April the pension funds for Detroit’s city workers filed suit to block the law in federal court. They also argue that the law violates home rule provisions of the state constitution.