Introducing Michigan Supreme Court Candidate Bridget Mary McCormack

Bridget Mary McCormack is a candidate for the Michigan Supreme Court. She says she is running because she believes our judicial system should give everyone a fair shake, and that she aims to restore public confidence in the Michigan Supreme Court. She appears on the non-partisan section of the November 6 ballot.

By way of background, Bridget spent her early legal career trying cases the Legal Aid Society and with New York’s Office of the Appellate Defender, handling over 1,000 cases for individual clients in the trial and appellate courts. In 1996, she became a faculty fellow at the Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1998, she joined the University of Michigan Law School faculty and made Michigan her permanent home. For the past 14 years McCormack has conducted and supervised many types of litigation, at all levels of state and federal courts in Michigan. She has also created and expanded the Law School’s legal clinics, including clinics for victims of domestic violence, for children with health problems, and a clinic to assist victims of human trafficking, among others.

McCormack has been widely recognized for her commitment to justice for everyone. In 2010, she won the prestigious Justice for All Award, and in 2011, the Washtenaw County Bar Association recognized her with its Patriot Award. Most recently, she has been named the recipient of Thomas M. Cooley Law School Review 2012 Distinguished Brief Award.

She is nominated by the Michigan Democratic Party, and has been endorsed by many organizations and individuals, including both the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press. She received the “highest rating” by the Lansing Association for Human Rights. Her many supporters include Judge Tim Connors and Chairman (Ret.) Derek Bailey. McCormack has a special interest in tribal issues, and her candidacy was recently covered in the Win Awenen Nisitotong. In the words of Judge Connors, one of her mentors: “Bridget Mary McCormack will continue the advocacy of Justice Michael Cavanagh’s respect for tribal sovereignty, self determination, and state court compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act.”

According to McCormack’s campaign, she is guided by a view of the judicial branch once articulated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who said that the courtroom is one place where fairness should trump strength, and where being right should matter more than being popular or powerful. More information about her candidacy can be found at www.mccormackforjustice.com and www.facebook.com/mccormackforjustice.