In preparation for the 2024 election on Nov. 5, The Michigan Daily sat down with candidates from local races to learn more about them, their platforms and their plans for Michigan. There are two open seats on the Michigan Supreme Court up for election in 2024. Democrats nominated Kimberly Ann Thomas and Kyra Harris Bolden, who has served on the court since being appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022, to take on Republican nominees Andrew Fink and Patrick O’Grady, respectively. O’Grady did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.
The following interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Kimberly Ann Thomas
The Michigan Daily: Why did you decide to run for Michigan Supreme Court?
Kimberly Ann Thomas: I decided to run for the Michigan Supreme Court because I care about the quality of justice that people receive, both on our highest court decisions and also in our local courts across the state. What I’m hoping to bring to the court is experience as an attorney for 25 years litigating in those courts, from the district courts to the Michigan Supreme Court, but also the expertise that comes with being a law professor and being really able to dig into and be a thorough and accurate researcher of the law.
TMD: How have your previous experiences qualified you for the position?
KT: I’ve been an attorney for 25 years, so part of that work is being in the courts and understanding how our local courts work. I’ve also been up to the Michigan Supreme Court, so I really have a deep understanding of how courts up and down our state court system operate. Of course, I also teach students the practice of law at the University of Michigan Law School. Working with young lawyers, our next generation of lawyers, has helped me think about the importance of where our profession is going.
TMD: Can you tell the readers of The Daily specifically about your election campaign platform and the most important points?
KT: Judicial candidates, including the State Supreme Court candidates, don’t have platforms. My platform isn’t on any particular political issue, but the thing that I really care about is having the most experienced and highly qualified people making our most important decisions on our state Supreme Court. I care that, across our court system, we have courts that are open and accessible to the people and don’t depend on the zip code you live in or how much money you make. I’m really trying to make our courts equitable across the system.
TMD: Is there anything you want to say to college students at the University of Michigan?
KT: I work with graduate students at the Law School, and it is such a pleasure to work with students, to be constantly reminded and energized by them about what our profession can be, what lawyers can be, what our justice system can be and that we have to keep working for that. I want to thank college students and graduate students at the University of Michigan for their inspiration and for their commitment to doing the work we need to have the systems that we deserve.
TMD: Why should Michigan residents vote for you?
KT: I think Michigan residents should vote for me because I think I have the most experience of the candidates and I bring a background in integrity and fairness to the court, and I think that we really need that, too.
Andrew Fink
The Michigan Daily: Why did you decide to run for Michigan Supreme Court?
Andrew Fink: I’ve been in the legislature since 2021 and when the term limits changed after the election of 2022, it would have allowed me to stay actually longer in the state House of Representatives. It kind of caused me to think through what the next step for my public service should be. Because, in a funny way, extending the term limits actually made it seem less likely that I would stay in the legislature through the length of the new term limits, so that was when I started thinking about running for the Michigan Supreme Court. When I was a Law student at Michigan, it was the first time I really came to understand that the basic legal structure in our system of government is based on state law, making the state court system, and of course, ultimately, the state Supreme Court very important for just the basic functioning of our society. I started to think about whether this was a good fit for me and determined it was a good match of my experience and skills and opportunity, and away we went.
TMD: How have your previous experiences qualified you for the position?
AF: I grew up in Michigan. My dad was a police officer in Washtenaw County, and I grew up in downtown Ypsilanti, went to college in Michigan, went to law school in Michigan and then served in the Marine Corps for a little while. I was in active duty for a little more than three years, and my wife and I decided that Michigan is where we wanted to raise our family, so we moved back to Ypsi and then eventually back out to Hillsdale, where I opened a satellite office of our family’s law firm. So I’ve been an attorney in the Marine Corps, in private practice, doing a variety of things in a broad set of practice areas. Now, having served in the legislature for the last almost four years, I’ve really been exposed to many, many areas of law, and I think that’s a useful background to have because the State Supreme Court could have a case in any area of law. It’s a court with a completely general docket. I think that the broad legal experience I’ve had and my experience as a legislator is helpful in that way, but I’ve also developed the litigation skills that are relevant to the way the State Supreme Court works on these things. I’ve practiced in the trial courts, where all the cases at the Supreme Court start. But I’ve also been in the court of appeals and even the Supreme Court. So I’ve seen cases developed from the very lowest level to the ultimate resolution at the Supreme Court and everywhere in between.
TMD: Can you tell the readers of The Daily specifically about your election campaign platform and the most important points?
AF: The fundamental points that I’ve been making are that every citizen is entitled to due process, regardless of who that person is or who his or her friends are. The process that you should receive in court doesn’t change because you’re popular or unpopular, in an in-group or not. The law should be applied according to what it says, as written by the people or their representatives, not any kind of filter of the judge’s own biases or preference. And the court system needs to be run in a way that serves the people, first and foremost, meaning that the court’s administrative role over the lower court system is really an important consideration as well. Those are the three things that I’ve been emphasizing since I started this campaign.
TMD: Is there anything you want to say to college students at the University of Michigan?
AF: First of all, especially in a race like this, do your own research and try to look into each candidate’s history and what that person is really like and what they really prioritize in their career. Unfortunately, I think there’s been a great deal of misinformation in this campaign, and, of course, others as well. But, secondly, you should think about, first of all, what a record of public service might suggest about my candidacy. Having served first in the Marines, coming from a family where my grandpa and my uncle were both judges in Washtenaw County, my dad was a police officer, serving my neighbors has really been the primary motivation of my career. Now I’m in the legislature and seeking a judicial position, and that also sort of speaks to what the priorities of a candidate are.
TMD: Why should Michigan residents vote for you?
AF: If they, as I think they do, believe the same things I said about applying the law fairly, and according to what it says, according to its text and really allowing the system to depend on the rule of law and not the judge’s own preferences, if they believe that due process is for all of us, and if they think that the court system is there to help the community solve problems, not view the community as a problem, then I think the message that I’m sending should resonate with them, and they should send me in. My record of public service as a Marine officer —there are currently, I think, zero veterans on the Supreme Court — and the issue of veterans treatment courts and the way veterans interact with our legal system, sometimes, especially after a difficult time in service, has come to the fore a bit in probably all states, but certainly in Michigan. So having a person with some experience as a veteran, including, in my case, having been the officer in charge of the temporary disability retired list, working directly with disabled Marines, these are all reasons I think that they should consider my candidacy.
Kyra Harris Bolden
The Michigan Daily: Why did you decide to run for Michigan Supreme Court?
Kyra Harris Bolden: I decided to run for Michigan Supreme Court because of my daughter. So I was in the legislature, and I was asked to run for the Michigan Supreme Court. I did not think that that was a good idea — I was in my first trimester of pregnancy. I was getting asked so much, and I told them I wasn’t running, and I received a slew of calls that said, “Hey, we heard that you’re pregnant, and are you running for Michigan Supreme Court?” So I started rethinking everything in that, what would it mean for representation? What would it mean for so many women to see a pregnant person running for office? So many people feel like they have to choose between their families and their careers. What would it mean for the little Black girls in the state of Michigan that had never seen a Black woman on the Michigan Supreme Court? What would it mean for younger people to have a millennial on the court? I decided to run for Michigan Supreme Court because I felt like my experiences and my lens were needed on the court in order to lend that voice to try to get the answer right. I think that a diverse court of background, experiences and perspectives only enhances the conversation, and the prospect of bringing that perspective to the table started to excite me. So I decided to run for Michigan Supreme Court and spent almost my whole pregnancy running, and had my child in the middle of my campaign and continued to run.
TMD: How have your previous experiences qualified you for the position?
KB: I’m a lifelong Michigander. I went to Grand Valley State, and I went to the University of Detroit Mercy for law school. Once I was barred, I was a court-appointed criminal defense attorney, judicial law clerk and civil litigation attorney before I served two terms in the house. I like to say I went from litigator to legislator to now applying the law, and I think that’s a very important perspective to bring. I have seen the law in different facets, but I’ve also been able to see a myriad of issues. My experience isn’t just in one area of law, I have really touched every single area of law in my career, and I believe that those experiences are important to have at the table when having these very important discussions about what the legislature intended.
TMD: Can you tell the readers of The Daily specifically about your election campaign platform and the most important points?
KB: As judicial candidates, we can’t run on issues. It just depends on what cases come before the court, but I will say that personally, the aspects or the characteristics that I believe are important to being a judge are, especially on the Michigan Supreme Court, bringing a unique perspective because I think that we should all come from different backgrounds. I don’t think it serves Michiganders if the Michigan Supreme Court is a monolith. There’s seven of us, and we should all bring different perspectives to the table. I think that it’s important to have compassion and empathy, and I say that because when you lose that, I think you lose the ability to see each case for its uniqueness. You’re looking at everything like it’s the same, that it’s going to be the same outcome, that this defendant is the same as every other defendant. Since I’ve been on the court for almost two years now, one of the main things I’ve been focusing on is access to justice. I don’t want justice to be something that’s only obtained by how much money is in your pocket, the family that you come from or the zip code that you live in. I really believe in equal justice for all Michiganders, and so while I don’t think we have achieved that at the Michigan Supreme Court level, myself and my colleagues are working on that very important issue.
TMD: Is there anything you want to say to college students at the University of Michigan?
KB: Your vote matters, plain and simple. I have been in the public service space for six years or so now, and I have seen how important it is to have people at the table that represent you and that bring you with them when making important decisions. Your elected officials determine the resources that you have. They quite literally determine the job opportunities that you’re going to have in the future, and they determine the type of life that you and your family will live. So I just say particularly to college students, you have the greatest stake in what this country and the state will look like in the next 10, 20, 30 years. Don’t miss your opportunity to have your voice heard in these very critical conversations because you matter, and your voice matters.
TMD: Why should Michigan residents vote for you?
KB: I hope that Michigan residents will vote for me because I think I bring a very unique perspective to the table. I’m the first Black woman to ever serve on the Michigan Supreme Court, but I’m also the youngest to ever serve on the Michigan Supreme Court, and I am the only one currently serving that has legislative experience. I am also a new mom, and I think that all of those perspectives are very important when we’re talking about the decisions being made on behalf of Michiganders. You have to remember that the Michigan Supreme Court is the last word to your rights and freedoms in the state of Michigan. You also have to remember that our decisions set a precedent, which means every Michigander will have to abide by our decisions. The decisions we make are around now and also for generations to come. So the decisions that you make today for who will sit on your Michigan Supreme Court will have implications not just for you and your life, but for your children, your nieces, your nephews and generations that we won’t be able to see and touch. So when you’re making this very critical decision, I hope that you will choose a justice like myself that represents a lot of communities that are either not represented or underrepresented in our society and in positions of power. I hope that you will vote for a justice like me that believes in empathy and compassion, and I hope that you will vote for a justice like me that makes sure that I take Michiganders with me in every single decision that I make.
Daily News Editor Mary Corey and Daily Staff Reporter Grace Lee can be reached at mcorey@umich.edu and graceyl@umich.edu.
The post Meet the Candidates: Q&A with candidates for the Michigan Supreme Court appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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