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Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Courts - More on: "An 'Orgy of Negativity' in Michigan Judicial Race"

Updating this ILB entry from yesterday, the Detroit Free Press is reporting today, in a story by Zachary Gorchow:

Diane Hathaway sprung a stunning upset Tuesday of Clifford Taylor, the conservative chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court who was the target of a scathing advertising campaign from Democrats.

Hathaway, a Wayne County Circuit Court judge nominated by the Democrats, is the first challenger to unseat an incumbent justice since 1984.

The loss is a devastating blow to the Michigan Republican Party, which was braced for a bad night elsewhere on the ticket but badly wanted to re-elect Taylor, who has been a critical member of the conservative majority that has ruled the court the last decade. * * *

Taylor was favored to win re-election because he had an incumbent designation on the ballot and was on the nonpartisan ballot, theoretically inoculating him from the Democratic wave that swamped the state.

The race exploded in the last two weeks when the Michigan Democratic Party funded scathing ads labeling Taylor "the Sleeping Judge," claiming he fell asleep during a case -- a charge Taylor and Republicans denounced as a lie. * * *

Republicans countered the assault by attacking Hathaway's record on crime and claiming that she once told a newspaper she only wanted to serve on the state Court of Appeals to enhance her vacation time.

With 73% of the precincts reporting, Hathaway led with 49%- 40% for Taylor. Libertarian Robert Roddis had 11%.

Taylor has been a fixture of the Republican court majority that alternately has been hailed and castigated during the past decade for its conservative rulings.

Business interests and Republicans said Taylor and his fellow conservatives have taken a more literal interpretation of the law that has created a better climate to do business in Michigan.

But Democrats and plaintiffs' attorneys said Taylor has been part of a majority that has overturned years of precedent and stacked the deck against individuals trying to sue businesses and government.

The court has five justices nominated for election by the Republican Party and two nominated by the Democrats.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 5, 2008 12:28 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts