It seems that enough is never enough with Michigan Republicans.
Despite the fact that they already control the Governor’s office, the Michigan House and the Michigan Senate, Republicans are now taking an absolutely unprecedented and shameless step to try to rig the courts in their favor as well.
I spoke out against Senate Bill 652 last week as they jammed it through the Senate without giving any proper hearing on the bill, and today, Republicans in the House took the next step by passing it out of their chamber as well. This bill would take the Court of Claims, the court the people of Michigan rely on to file suit against the actions taken by their Government, and put it under the direct control of partisan judges and political appointees.
The impact of this move cannot be understated. It would make it far more difficult, if not outright impossible, for the public to challenge the laws being rushed through by Republicans as the judges that would now be in charge of hearing those cases could be those put on the bench by the very same Republicans. It is nothing short of a subversion of the checks and balances between the three branches of government and a power grab to stack the courts in favor of their own party. This bill has been fast tracked through the Legislature, introduced less than two weeks ago, and if past experience has taught us anything, when Republicans ram through legislation the outcome is never good for the people.
Newspapers have spoken out across the state against this action. The Detroit Free Press asked “is rigging the fight in broad daylight what now passes for transparency in government?” while the Lansing State Journal correctly pointed out that “The speed at which this bill is moving suggests a political agenda rather than a better government agenda.”
Even worse, a well-respected former House Republican staffer who worked on the House Judiciary Committee for more than 40 years testified in opposition to these bills yesterday, calling his former employers out for attempting to rig the courts against the people and eroding the very foundation of our justice system.
In short, this legislation attacks the very core of our system of Government. It’s offensive to me not only as a Senator or an attorney, but as a person who believes there is a fundamental right for our citizens to be able to challenge the laws and policies of their government in a fair and nonpartisan court. Their decision to move this legislation through as quickly as possible raises serious questions as to the legalities of what they're doing, but also what they're trying to hide from the public in the process.
I, for one, hope the Governor finally shows some conviction and calls this bill what it is—a political ploy meant to silence the people and uphold questionable, unethical and even unconstitutional legislation. Please join me in calling on Governor Snyder to veto this bill, and if he won't, we can make it clear that this won't be forgotten come 2014.
Gretchen Whitmer
Michigan Senate Democratic Leader