DETROIT, Mich. — Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack announced Monday she is retiring from the bench.
McCormack, who has served on the Supreme Court for more than nine years, informed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of her retirement, which will happen no later than Dec. 31, 2022, but not before Nov. 22.
“In her tenure on the Michigan Supreme Court, she upheld the rule of law, stood strong for our constitutional values, and protected the fundamental rights of every Michigander. She worked tirelessly, both on and off the bench, to move our state courts forward and ensure that all Michiganders, no matter their background, means, or circumstance, had equal access to our justice system," Whitmer said in a statement.
The 56-year-old was sworn in as an associate justice on Jan. 1, 2013 and was appointed chief justice since January 2019, and was only the sixth woman to serve as chief justice.
“A decade can be a common measuring point for personal and professional change. Over the last 10 years, my kids grew up and went off to college and graduate school, we bought a pickup truck and an RV, and I have had the honor of serving as Chief Justice for the past four years. Making good on a campaign promise I made in 2012, I have given my every effort to do justice and to make the Michigan judiciary as fair and accessible as possible. 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 wrote in a letter to court staff.
During her time on the court, she established the Michigan Justice for All Commission, and she was the co-chair on the Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration and chaired the Jail reform Advisory Council.
McCormack has overseen the court at a time where it has made several important rulings, including rulings this year that put abortion rights and voter rights petitions on the November ballot, and a ruling in July that said Michigan's anti-bias laws protect LGBTQ+ people.
McCormack was just re-elected to serve an 8-year term in 2020, which means Whitmer will appoint someone to serve until the next election in 2024.
