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Michael McCormack

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Michael McCormack
Image of Michael McCormack
Prior offices
Nebraska Supreme Court District 4

Education

Law

Creighton University School of Law, 1963


Michael McCormack is a former justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court on March 19, 1997 by Governor Ben Nelson. McCormack was retained by voters in 2012.

McCormack retired from the court on January 1, 2016.[1]

Education

McCormack earned his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law in 1963.[2]

Career

  • 1997-2018: Justice, Nebraska Supreme Court
  • 1966-1997: Attorney in private practice
  • 1963-1966: Assistant Public Defender, Douglas County[2]

Elections

2012

McCormack was retained in the general election on November 6, winning 70.36% of the vote.[3][4]

See also: Nebraska judicial elections, 2012

2012 judicial performance evaluation

Every two years, the Nebraska State Bar Association compiles responses from lawyers to evaluate judges in the state. Subjects are rated in seven categories, then a determination is made for whether the judge should be retained. The seven categories considered are: legal analysis; impartiality; attentiveness; opinions; judicial temperament and demeanor; appropriate communication; and timeliness.

90 percent of respondents stated that Justice McCormack should be retained in office. To read the full evaluation, see: Nebraska State Bar Association, 2012 Evaluation Results.

2006

He was retained by voters, winning 75% of the vote.[5]

2000

He was retained by voters in 2000 with 75% of the vote.[6]

Political ideology

See also: Political ideology of State Supreme Court Justices

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.

McCormack received a campaign finance score of -0.21, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.18 that justices received in Nebraska.

The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[7]

See also

External links

Footnotes