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Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice vacancy (April 2025)
| Michigan Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Clement vacancy |
| Date: April 15, 2025 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Noah Hood |
| Date: April 23, 2025 |
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) appointed Noah Hood to the Michigan Supreme Court on April 23, 2025.[1] Hood replaces Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement, who retired on April 15, 2025. In her retirement announcement, Clement announced she would leave the court to become the president of the National Center for State Courts.[2][3] Hood is Governor Whitmer's second nominee to the seven-member supreme court. Hood was sworn in on May 21, 2025.
Even though, at the time of her retirement, Clement was the chief justice of the court, her successor will not be appointed as the chief justice. In Michigan and 22 other states, the chief justice is chosen through a chamber vote. In a March 2025 vote, the Michigan Supreme Court elected Megan Cavanagh to serve as the chief justice to succeed Clement following her retirement.[3] To learn more about how chief justices are chosen in state supreme courts, click here.
In Michigan, state supreme court justices are selected through the Michigan method. Justices are elected through nonpartisan elections. The candidates in the nonpartisan selection are chosen through partisan primaries or conventions. This is the only state using this selection method. To read more about this type of election method, click here.
In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a temporary replacement to serve until the next general election. At the governor's request, the state bar's standing committee on judicial qualifications interviews, evaluates, and rates all candidates, submitting a confidential report to the governor. However, the governor is not required to request candidates from the committee, nor is the governor bound by the committee's evaluations.[4]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Michigan Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2025.
The appointee
- See also: Noah Hood
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) appointed Noah Hood to the Michigan Supreme Court on April 23, 2025.[1]
Noah Hood's career experience includes working as an assistant United States Attorney with the Eastern District of Michigan.[5]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Michigan
In Michigan, state supreme court justices are selected through the Michigan method. Justices are elected through nonpartisan elections. The candidates in the nonpartisan selection are chosen through partisan primaries or conventions. This is the only state using this selection method. To read more about this type of election method, click here.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Michigan Supreme Court
Justices
Following Clement's retirement, the Michigan Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Richard Bernstein | Elected in 2014 and 2022 | |
| ■ Kyra Harris Bolden | Appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in 2022 and 2024 | |
| ■ Megan Cavanagh | Elected in 2018 | |
| ■ Kimberly Thomas | Elected in 2024 | |
| ■ Elizabeth Welch | Elected in 2020 | |
| ■ Brian Zahra | Appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder (R) in 2011, 2014, and 2022 |
About the court
Founded in 1805, the Michigan Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Megan Cavanagh.[6]
About Chief Justice Clement
- See also: Elizabeth Clement
Clement received her bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and her J.D. from MSU College of Law.[7] Before her nomination to the Michigan Supreme Court in 2017, Clement was chief legal counsel to Gov. Rick Snyder and had previously served as deputy chief of staff in the executive office and deputy legal counsel. She also previously worked in the Michigan Senate Majority Policy Office, as an attorney at Clement Law PLLC, and as legal counsel in the Michigan Senate.[7]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2025
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2025
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2025. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2024.
| 2025 State Supreme Court Vacancies |
|---|
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Click on Detroit, "Gov. Whitmer makes appointments to Michigan Supreme Court, Court of Appeals," April 23, 2025
- ↑ One Court of Justice Michigan, "Statement from Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Elizabeth T. Clement," February 19, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michigan Advance, "Cavanagh now officially Michigan’s chief justice after Clement departs," April 17, 2025
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedMIselect - ↑ The Office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, "Gov. Whitmer Makes Appointments to 3rd Circuit Court," March 28, 2019
- ↑ Michigan Courts, "About the Supreme Court," accessed October 29, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedpr
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Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan
State courts:
Michigan Supreme Court • Michigan Court of Appeals • Michigan Circuit Court • Michigan Court of Claims • Michigan District Courts • Michigan Municipal Courts • Michigan Probate Courts
State resources:
Courts in Michigan • Michigan judicial elections • Judicial selection in Michigan
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