LANSING, Mich. (MIRS News) – The Michigan Supreme Court has disposed of about half of the cases it had finished at this time last year and the year before that, but the word from inside the high court is that justices are not concerned and that there’s confidence that everything will be adjudicated by its July 31 deadline.
A MIRS analysis shows the Supreme Court heard oral arguments or considered 65 case file numbers (some cases are assigned two or more numbers) since its 2022-23 session began in October. Oral arguments ended May 31, and the court has until July 31 to issue opinions or orders.
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It has disposed of 25 file numbers as of today, nearly 50% fewer than the roughly 40 completed from October through June 1 in the 2020-21 and 2021-2022 sessions.
A few reasons are contributing to the slower pace, sources tell MIRS.
First is the mid-year change that took place when former Chief Justice Bridget McCormack left the court for a different job before the end of the calendar year. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed then-Rep. Kyra Bolden to the bench in late 2022 and her tenure began Jan. 1. Any time a new justice takes over mid-term, MIRS is told that there is a learning curve and some delay as the new justice is brought up to speed.
While it is not unusual for a new employee in any office to need time to get up to speed, Bolden’s tenure began with controversy when Justice Richard BERNSTEIN challenged the new justice’s hiring of a clerk who spent more than 14 years in prison after pleading guilty in 1994 to an armed robbery.
Bernstein, who apologized to Bolden, took criticism for his outspokenness and in April he announced he was working remotely while he participated in a short-term mental health treatment program outside of Michigan. He returned in May.
His leave also had some impact on cases.
However, MIRS has learned justices are not panicking. Cases and opinions are circulating among the justices. Discussions are taking place. In some cases, minds are being changed. Dissenting opinions are becoming majority opinions and majority opinions are becoming dissenting opinions. Normal stuff.
Also, there’s been a change in how some of the cases are being taken up. In years past, the justices issued more traditional opinions from their “calendar” cases in which the court agrees to hear full oral arguments and then issue formal opinions. These can be very involved and time-consuming for the justices.
Recently, the court has taken up what is known as “mini-oral arguments on the applications (MOAA),” which is a process that gives the court more flexibility to abandon a case they ultimately learn isn’t worth their attention. These cases can result in larger opinions like calendar cases, but they can also be quickly disposed of.
This term, the court heard 14 file numbers as calendar cases and 49 MOAA file numbers while one case had no arguments and a second had been held in abeyance since 2021. Around 10 years ago, it was the other way around.
Technically, MOAAs do not have to be resolved by July 31, but the court’s practice has been to treat them like formal opinions and have them done by that same deadline. This year is not expected to be an exception.
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