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Bridget Mary McCormack

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Bridget Mary McCormack
Prior offices:
Michigan Supreme Court
Years in office: 2013 - 2022
Successor:Kyra Harris Bolden (D)
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 3, 2020
Education
Bachelor's
Trinity College, 1988
Law
New York University Law School, 1991
Contact


Bridget Mary McCormack (Democratic Party) was a judge of theMichigan Supreme Court. She assumed office in 2013. She left office on November 30, 2022.

McCormack (Nonpartisan, Democratic Party) ran for re-election for judge of theMichigan Supreme Court. McCormack won in the general election onNovember 3, 2020. She advanced from the Democratic convention onAugust 29, 2020.

McCormack completed Ballotpedia'sCandidate Connection survey in 2020.Click here to read the survey answers.

In 2019, she was elected by her peers to serve a two-year term as chief justice.[1]

McCormack was one of seven candidates competing for two seats on theMichigan Supreme Court in thenonpartisan election on November 6, 2012.[2][3] Though the race wasnonpartisan, she was nominated at theDemocratic Party convention.[4] To read more about judicial selection in Michigan,click here.

In 2020, Ballotpedia publishedBallotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice aConfidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[5] McCormack received a confidence score ofMild Democrat.[6]Click here to read more about this study.

McCormack retired on November 30, 2022. To learn more about this vacancy,click here.

Biography

McCormack received herJ.D. from New York University Law School.[7] Prior to her election to theMichigan Supreme Court, McCormack was a law professor and dean at the University of Michigan Law School. While an associate dean, McCormack co-founded the law school's Innocence Clinic. She was a faculty fellow at Yale Law School. She also worked as an attorney with the Legal Aid Society and the Office of the Appellate Defender in New York.[7]

Elections

2020

See also: Michigan Supreme Court elections, 2020

General election

General election for Michigan Supreme Court (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Michigan Supreme Court on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bridget Mary McCormack
Bridget Mary McCormack (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
32.3
 
2,377,410
✔
Image of Elizabeth Welch
Elizabeth Welch (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
20.2
 
1,490,550
Image of Mary Kelly
Mary Kelly (Nonpartisan)
 
17.0
 
1,252,692
Image of Brock Swartzle
Brock Swartzle (Nonpartisan)
 
13.7
 
1,009,320
Image of Susan L. Hubbard
Susan L. Hubbard (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
8.3
 
611,019
Image of Kerry Lee Morgan
Kerry Lee Morgan (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
4.6
 
340,396
Image of Katie Nepton
Katie Nepton (Nonpartisan)
 
3.9
 
290,377

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 7,371,764
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Michigan Supreme Court (2 seats)

IncumbentBridget Mary McCormack andElizabeth Welch advanced from the Democratic convention for Michigan Supreme Court on August 29, 2020.

Candidate
✔
Image of Bridget Mary McCormack
Bridget Mary McCormack (D) Candidate Connection
✔
Image of Elizabeth Welch
Elizabeth Welch (D) Candidate Connection

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican convention

Republican convention for Michigan Supreme Court (2 seats)

Mary Kelly andBrock Swartzle advanced from the Republican convention for Michigan Supreme Court on August 29, 2020.

Candidate
✔
Image of Mary Kelly
Mary Kelly (R)
✔
Image of Brock Swartzle
Brock Swartzle (R)

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Michigan Supreme Court (2 seats)

Kerry Lee Morgan andKatie Nepton advanced from the Libertarian convention for Michigan Supreme Court on July 18, 2020.

Candidate
✔
Image of Kerry Lee Morgan
Kerry Lee Morgan (L) Candidate Connection
✔
Image of Katie Nepton
Katie Nepton (L)

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2012

See also:Michigan judicial elections, 2012

McCormack was one of seven candidates competing for two seats on theMichigan Supreme Court in the general election on November 6, 2012. She won 23.59 percent of the vote in the general election, securing herself a seat on the court.[8][9] Though the race was nonpartisan, she was nominated by the Democratic Party at their convention.[10]

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Bridget Mary McCormack completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McCormack's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all |Collapse all

I was elected to the Michigan Supreme Court in November 2012 and unanimously selected by my colleagues to serve as chief justice in January 2019. This year I am seeking reelection to a second term on the court. I have worked to ensure the court remains independent from political pressure, and where being right is more important than being popular or powerful. I've championed efforts to make Michigan's trial courts accessible and transparent through programs like: MI-Resolve that gives people a way to resolve differences online without having to hire a lawyer or appear in court; problem-solving courts that address the underlying issues, like substance abuse, that often are the reason people find themselves in court; and the use of technology to make Michigan courts more accessible and efficient. I launched the court's Justice for All Taskforce and co-chair the Governor's Taskforce on Jail and Pretrial Reform. Prior to my election, I was associate dean at the University of Michigan Law School where I helped establish many of the clinical programs in which students represent Michiganders who otherwise could not afford to hire a lawyer. I currently reside in Ann Arbor, Michigan and enjoy frequent trips to West Michigan.
  • Courts must be independent from political pressure.
  • The courts belong to the people; they must be accessible to all, treat people with dignity and respect and be transparent.
  • Courthouses must dramatically increase innovation and technology to meet the access to justice challenge and make sure people can get their business done efficiently.
I am passionate about making our courts work for the people they serve. We can improve the way people experience the courts with innovation, technology and alternative approaches to solving problems. As mentioned above, the MI-Resolve program and problem-solving courts are examples of programs by allowing them to resolve differences in court without having to hire a lawyer and by getting at the root cause of a problem that may have led them to court. Further, during my tenure the court has become a leader in the use of technology to improve access to the courts. When the 2020 pandemic hit, Michigan was well-positioned to maintain access to the justice system. By mid-September, more than 1 million hours of online hearings had been held around the state. Finally, the Taskforce on Jail and Pretrial Reform continues to do its work by promoting evidence-based and values-driven reform proposals designed to make Michigan's communities safer, stronger and more just. Those proposals have been presented to the Michigan Legislature for action.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Analysis

See also:Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship andBallotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters

Last updated: June 15, 2020

In 2020, Ballotpedia publishedBallotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.

The study presentedConfidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[12]

The five resulting categories ofConfidence Scores were:

  • Strong Democrat
  • Mild Democrat
  • Indeterminate[13]
  • Mild Republican
  • Strong Republican

This justice'sConfidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.

Bridget Mary
McCormack

Michigan

  • Partisan Confidence Score:
    Mild Democrat
  • Judicial Selection Method:
    Elected
  • Key Factors:
    • Donated over $2,000 to Democratic candidates
    • Was a registered Democrat as of 2020
    • Received donations from Democrat-affiliated individuals or organizations


Partisan Profile

Details:

McCormack donated $5,680 to Democratic candidates and organizations. She was a registered Democrat prior to 2020. McCormack received donations from organizations that regularly donate to Democratic candidates, including the Michigan Education Association. She was endorsed by individuals and organizations that regularly endorse Democrats, including Fems for Dems, the Michigan AFL-CIO, the Michigan Association for Justice, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan. At the time of her appointment, Michigan was a Republican trifecta.



State supreme court judicial selection in Michigan

See also:Judicial selection in Michigan

Theseven justices of theMichigan Supreme Court are chosen by theMichigan method in which a partisan nomination is followed by nonpartisan elections.[14] Incumbent judges seeking re-election may file an affidavit of candidacy requesting to be placed on the ballot, while non-incumbent candidates must either file a nominating petition or obtain a partisan nomination at a party convention. Incumbency is noted on the ballot, though party affiliation is not. Judges serve eight-year terms and must be re-elected if they wish to remain on the court.[15]

Qualifications

To be elected to the supreme court, a judge must:

  • be a qualified elector;
  • be licensed to practice law in the state;
  • have at least five years of law practice experience;
  • be under the age of 70.[15]

Chief justice

Thechief justice of the court is elected by his or her fellow justices and serves a two-year term[15]

Vacancies

See also:How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a temporary replacement to serve until the next general election. At the governor's request, the state bar's standing committee on judicial qualifications interviews, evaluates, and rates all candidates, submitting a confidential report to the governor. However, the governor is not required to request candidates from the committee, nor is the governor bound by the committee's evaluations.[15]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.



See also

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑WLNS, "State Supreme Court makes history with Chief Justice selection," January 9, 2019
    2. ↑Michigan Department of State, "Official 2012 General Election Results: Supreme Court," accessed June 24, 2021
    3. ↑Michigan Department of State, "2012 General Election Candidates," accessed June 24, 2021
    4. ↑The News-Herald, "Democrats eye three seats on Michigan Supreme Court," October 2, 2012
    5. ↑We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
    6. ↑The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
    7. ↑7.07.1Michigan Courts, "Justice Bridget Mary McCormack," accessed June 24, 2021
    8. ↑Michigan Department of State, "Official 2012 General Election Results: Supreme Court," accessed June 24, 2021
    9. ↑Michigan Department of State, "2012 General Election Candidates," accessed June 24, 2021
    10. ↑The News-Herald, "Democrats eye three seats on Michigan Supreme Court," October 2, 2012
    11. ↑Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, "Press Release: WLAM Endorses, Rates Judicial Candidates"
    12. ↑The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
    13. ↑An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
    14. ↑American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Michigan," archived October 2, 2014
    15. ↑15.015.115.215.3National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed August 27, 2021

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