William Whitbeck
William C. Whitbeck was a judge on the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Michigan. He was appointed to the court in 1997 and re-elected to six-year terms in 1998 and 2004. The state supreme court appointed him chief judge in 2001 for a two-year term. He was re-appointed for additional two-year terms as chief judge in 2003 and 2005.[1] He was re-elected to the court on November 2, 2010.[2][3] Whitbeck retired on November 21, 2014.[4]
2010 election
- Main article: Michigan judicial elections, 2010
Whitbeck ran unopposed and was re-elected to the court of appeals on November 2, 2010.[5]
Education
Whitbeck received his bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and his J.D. from the University of Michigan.[1]
Career
Prior to serving on the bench, Whitbeck was director of the Office of State Employer, director of policy for the Public Service Commission, director of the Detroit area office for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, an administrative assistant to Governor George Romney, a legislative analyst for the Department of Commerce, and worked as an attorney in private practice.[1]
RMGN effort fails
Chief Judge William Whitbeck and Judges Patrick Meter and Bill Schuette determined that the proposal from Reform Michigan Government Now was "an illegal attempt to enact a general revision of the state constitution." According to the Detroit Free Press, "A sweeping proposal led by Michigan Democrats and labor unions to rewrite much of the Michigan Constitution appears dead after a court ruling August 20, 2008."[6]
RMGN and the Court of Appeals
Reform Michigan Government Now's (RMGN) proposal to reduce the Michigan Court of Appeals from 28 to 21 judges, based on term expiration dates, intended to shift the court's political power from the Republicans to the Democrats. Had it passed, the court's political makeup would have been changed from the current 16 Republican judges and 12 Democratic judges to 10 Republican judges and 11 Democratic judges--thereby eliminating six Republican judges and one Democratic judge. The judges targeted by the Reform Michigan Government Now proposal were: Pat Donofrio, Joel Hoekstra, Donald Owens, David Sawyer, William Whitbeck, Kurtis Wilder, and Helene White--the only Democrat affected by these removals.[7]
See also
External links
- Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, "William Whitbeck Biography"
- Michigan Legislative Council, "Biography of Commission member, William Whitbeck"
- The Michigan Lawyer Blog, "Who will replace Whitbeck as COA chief?" October 2, 2007
- Washington Post, "Judge's Footnote On Adultery Stirs a Tempest In Michigan,"January 19, 2007
- Legal Newsline, "Lower judges fear Michigan SC split could color courts partisan," August 14, 2007
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, "William Whitbeck Biography"
- ↑ Michigan Department of State, "2010 Unofficial General Election Results: Court of Appeals"
- ↑ Ballotpedia.org, "Michigan Constitution, Article VI, Section 23"
- ↑ SBM Blog, "Michigan appeals court Judge William Whitbeck will retire in November," October 10, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Department of State, "2010 candidate list"
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Attempt to change much of constitution fails court test," August 20, 2008
- ↑ Dolan Media, "Democrats will take over on Michigan Court of Appeals"
