Supreme Court Justice
Mary Beth Kelly has announced her intention to resign from the Supreme Court on
October 1. The announcement comes after Ms. Kelly served only a partial term on
the bench. According to Ms. Kelly, she will be leaving the court to return to
the private sector where she will join Bodman PLC, a Detroit based firm. Ms.
Kelly stated that she has accomplished everything she set out to while serving
as a Justice and she believes that she can do more to advocate for juvenile
justice in a position off the court.
Following the
resignation of Ms. Kelly, Governor Snyder will appoint a new justice to fill
the partial term. This will be the third appointment during his tenure as
Governor, the most since Governor John Engler held office. At this there has
been no signal when Governor Snyder will appoint Ms. Kelly’s successor.
When discussing her
future role with the court, Ms. Kelly stated that it is not her place to
recommend a replacement. She has also publicly stated that while she fully
intends to remain an active member of the court until her resignation, she will
recuse herself of any legal actions that involve Bodman PLC.
While some throughout
the state have begun to hint a potential run for Attorney General for Ms.
Kelly, thus causing her to resign, she has stated that there is no interest on
her part in running for office. Although Mr. Snyder has replaced the last two
female justices to resign with men, Justice Brian Zahra and Justice David
Viviano, his spokesperson has stated that he feels no pressure to replace Ms.
Kelly with another female.