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What They Say
Justice Taylor and his leadership of the Michigan Supreme Court has been criticized by attorneys practicing before the court, academics and even a fellow Republican Supreme Court Justice.
- 1. Justice Taylor comes to the bench unprepared and disinterested in the cases before him.
Attorneys who have argued case in front of the Michigan Supreme Court rated Justice Taylor lowest in preparedness, lowest in efficiency, lowest in thoroughness and lowest in overall knowledge of the law. --Michigan Lawyers Weekly, January 21, 2008 (PDF)
- 2. Justice Taylor's Michigan Supreme Court ranks last in a survey of state supreme courts.
A University of Chicago paper ranks Michigan's Supreme Court ranks dead last in a composite ranking based on the independence of its judges, productivity and citations by out-of-state courts.
That paper ranks Michigan's Supreme Court dead last in the independence of its judges, measured by a judge’s ability to put aside partisan concerns when deciding cases. Michigan's Supreme Court ranks 44th out of 52 courts in productivity measured by opinions per judge per year. Michigan's Supreme Court ranks 42nd out of 52 courts in citations by out-of-state courts, a measure of the influence of the court on its sister states.
See Law School Study Ranks Michigan Supreme Court In The Cellar
For the full report, see "Which States Have the Best (and Worst) High Courts?" (PDF) • University of Chicago
- 3. Justice Taylor received harsh criticism from fellow Republican Justice Elizabeth Weaver. Justice Weaver dissented from the election of Cliff Taylor as Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.
"It is necessary that I dissent from the election of Chief Justice Clifford Taylor as Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Chief Justice Taylor has proven that he cannot properly lead the Michigan Supreme Court at this time. The people of Michigan deserve to have a Chief Justice who will conduct the people's business in an orderly, professional, and fair manner." --Absolute Michigan, January 5, 2007
"Chief Justice Taylor has too often mismanaged the business of this Court. ... This inclination toward secrecy also deprives the people of the information they need to properly make judgments on the justices’ performance of their duties. The Supreme Court should not be a secret club run for the benefit of justices and judges." --Dissent to Appointment of Chief Judge of the 37th District Court (cities of Warren and Center Line, Macomb County) (PDF)
- 4. Lansing State Journal: "The most important vote a Michigan resident can cast this fall is to oust Chief Justice Clifford Taylor from the Michigan Supreme Court."
John Engler put Taylor on the Supreme Court. And huge amounts of money from business interests with business before the high court have kept him there. While there, Taylor and his political allies on the court have again and again put the people's interests last. --Lansing State Journal, October 19, 2008
- 5. Taylor's "Finest Court" Myth Debunked:
"The centerpiece of Justice Taylor's campaign is his claim that the Wall Street Journal has declared his court to be "the Finest in the Nation"...the problem with this statement is that the Wall Street Journal never said this..." --Timothy Smith, Attorney, October 21, 2008
