Kelly stepping down from Michigan Supreme Court

LANSING – Justice Mary Beth Kelly, one of five Republican nominees on the seven-member Michigan Supreme Court, announced Monday she will step down from the court Oct. 1 to return to private law practice.

Kelly's announcement surprised many, because she has more than three years left in her first eight-year term. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is now expected to appoint a replacement, who would have to run in November 2016 to finish the final two years of Kelly's term.

"I achieved the goals that I joined the judiciary" to pursue, and "I came to the realization it's kind of the right time for me to return to the private sector," Kelly told the Free Press. "It was a hard decision to make."

Kelly, 53, a former chief judge of the Wayne County Circuit Court who was elected to the Michigan Supreme Court in 2010, is joining the Detroit law firm of Bodman PLC.

She said she felt she's contributed to creating a more collegial atmosphere on the court and had raised the profile of issues surrounding children and families.

Some saw Kelly as the most moderate of the five GOP-nominated justices and she had dissented from the majority in four recent decisions, writing the dissent in a 4-3 case involving state employee unions and the powers of the Michigan Civil Service Commission that has the effect of making state employees subject to the 2012 right-to-work law.

Her announcement prompted speculation that Kelly has set her sights on another public office, possibly attorney general when incumbent Bill Schuette must step aside due to term limits at the end of 2018.

But Kelly said Monday she has no plans to run for political office and "no interest in running for attorney general."

Before joining the Wayne County Circuit Court in 1999, Kelly was in private law practice with Dickinson Wright.

“Justice Kelly has written important opinions and made her presence felt on this bench,” Chief Justice Robert P. Young, Jr. said in a statement.

“In particular, my colleagues and I have appreciated the experience and insights she brought from leading the state’s largest circuit court. Justice Kelly is a good friend, and I will miss her presence on the Court. I wish her well in the next phase of her career.”

At Bodman, Kelly will become vice chair of the firm’s litigation and alternative dispute resolution practice group, the firm said in a news release. She will focus her practice on business litigation, government relations, and public affairs.

“We are thrilled that after sixteen years of distinguished service to our state, Justice Kelly has chosen to join Bodman as she re-enters private practice,” firm Chairman Ralph E McDowell said in a news release. “Her vast experience, keen legal insight, leadership abilities, and impeccable reputation will enrich our firm."

Snyder issued a statement praising Kelly for her "tremendous leadership and dedication during her time on the Supreme Court."

"Her advocacy on juvenile justice issues has had a major impact on the state, and she has been instrumental in shaping innovative specialty courts meant to rehabilitate drug offenders and defendants who are veterans," Snyder said.

Kelly's departure will mark the third Michigan Supreme Court vacancy Snyder has had to fill since he took office in 2011. The two previous justices to depart were also women -- Justice Maura Corrigan, who retired, and Justice Diane Hathaway, who resigned over a federal bank fraud conviction. Snyder filled both those vacancies with men -- Justices Brian Zahra and David Viviano.

Possible successors to Kelly include Oakland County Circuit Judge Colleen O'Brien, who was a Republican nominee for the Supreme Court in 2012, and Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Kirsten Frank Kelly -- no relation.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.