Senator Nesbitt: Gubernatorial Appointments To Supreme Court Should Get Senate Vote

nesbitttestifies-15
nesbitttestifies-15

State Senator Aric Nesbitt of Lawton is trying again to get a change made to how state Supreme Court justices are chosen in the event of a vacancy mid-term. As it stands now, the governor would appoint a new justice, and it’s not subject to a vote in the Senate. Nesbitt says that shouldn’t be.

“I view it as a good government issue,” Nesbitt tells WSJM News. “It provides a balance of power that I think our founders would appreciate.”

He first introduced a bill to mandate any Supreme Court nominations get an up or down vote in the Senate during his first term in the House, and has brought it back up again this year. Justices on the Michigan Supreme Court are elected and do not have lifetime appointments, as is the case with the U.S. Supreme Court.