True to his word, Michigan Court of Appeals (COA) Judge William C. Whitbeck is stepping down from his post as the court's chief judge at the end of the year, according to a Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS) report.
Judge Whitbeck is on the last leg of a third, two-year term, and, MIRS reports, he announced a while back that he wasn't going to seek a fourth term as the COA's top administrator.
Last April, Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Clifford Taylor asserted that the COA had four too many judges. When the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) released recommendations in August that backed Taylor's position, Whitbeck debunked the report in a sharply worded memo addressed to the rest of the COA judges.
The Michigan Supreme Court appoints chief judges for all of the lower courts, including the COA. Given Whitbeck's outspoken opposition to reducing the number of COA judges, even if he wanted a fourth term, Taylor, if he were of a mind to do it, could probably find three other votes on the high court to give the job to someone else.
MIRS says four COA judges have asked to be considered for the chief judge position. They are Pat M. Donofrio, Donald S. Owens, Henry William Saad and Michael J. Talbot.
Those of you interested in handicapping this horse race might consider this: when the COA released an initial position paper that urged the MSC to reject the SCAO's recommendation to cut four judges, Donofrio is the only one of the four chief judge candidates who signed a dissenting statement, which counseled that the COA should neither support nor oppose the SCAO recommendation.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Who will replace Whitbeck as COA chief?
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5 comments:
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It can't be Talbot, God help us all.
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I don't know Owens but the others are totally inadequate. None stand out as ethical, principled people who deserve to be Chief. They are on the Court because of political agendas, and to further their personal agendas. None are know as hard workers (just the opposite) with a genuine concern for the jurisprudence of the State or it's citizens. To the contrary. Talbot had a very poor reputation as a trial judge and was then inexplicably elevated, Saad had a questionable reputation, and Donofrio will apparently do whatever is personally and politically expedient. None of them will have the respect as Chief from the practicing bar. I'm sorry to see Whitbeck go. He seemed to actually consider himself a public servant - a rare commodity these days. It's awful to practice law in a state where there is so little respect for the appellate and supreme courts, but we're stuck for the duration.
This is a stupid poll, just like the others published by this rag...
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