Which race on the November 2008 election ballot has the potential to most directly affect your life? Most people might say it's the race at the top of the ticket -- the presidential battle between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
But the most important race for Michigan residents might be one of those at the bottom of the ballot -- the contest on the Michigan Supreme Court. Chief Justice Clifford Taylor -- first appointed to the bench by Republican Gov. John Engler -- is seeking another eight-year term. And a speaker for the Justice Caucus Supreme Challenge 2008 told Livingston County Democrats Thursday (June 12, 2008) that Taylor -- with the help of the rest of his "Gang of Four" -- has wiped out many long-held rights of Michigan residents regarding the work place, the environment, and the ability to collect on the insurance policies they pay for.
"They mock the notion of justice. ... They literally have said in their opinions that it is not the job of this court to do justice," Said Doug Shapiro, an Ann Arbor attorney.
Taylor, along with fellow Republicans Stephen Markman, Bob Young, and Maura Corrigan, have decided every case they've handled in favor of insurance companies regardless of the facts before them, Shapiro said.
"What they have done is make the Supreme Court a seven-person Legislature and four of them are Republican. It's all politics. They are politicians in black robes," Shapiro said.
Taylor was appointed to the Michigan Court of Appeals by Engler and then the Supreme Court, based on the fact that his wife, Lucille Taylor, was Engler's lawyer. He narrowly won re-election last time. "He didn't exactly rise to the top through merit," Shapiro said.
"From 1999 to the present, they have radically changed Michigan's courts. Environmentalists, unions, insureds -- so many groups have had the doors of justice closed to them under this court. Insurance companies have had the doors thrown open. They have been able to get everything they want," he said.
In the last 10 years, Shapiro said, every case between insureds and insurance companies has been won by the insurance company. The court, he said, has said that since insurabnce companies have a duty to build up reserves to they can pay claims to their customers, it is the best interests of customers to deny claims.
Shapiro said Taylor's court also has:
--Shortened the time to bring a lawsuit against an insurance company for failing to pay claims to one year from the date the claim was filed, allowing companies to drag their feet on paying claims until it is impossible for the consumer to sue.
--Made it harder for family members to be paid for providing care to someone injured in a car accident, requiring that they have a contact to provide care.
--Required injured people to pay for medical care upfront and then be reimbursed by the auto insurer, meaning people with limited means can get no coverage because they can't afford to pay for care up front.
--Made it harder to sue government for actions of their employees, except in the unlikely event that the government workers were the sole cause of the injury.
--Limited lawsuits over roads to pot holes, banning lawsuits over the design of roads or non-functioning traffic signals.
--Barring citizens from suing to protect the environment, a right clearly spelled out in Michigan law.
--Removed the requirement that owners of establishments clean up spills on floors in restaurants, salt their roads, plow snow or fix potholes.
And that's just the start. Imagine what another eight years of Taylor rule would do.
Shapiro said Taylor has an enormous advantage since the ballot will list him as the incumbent and because 30 to 40 percent of voters don't vote in the judicial contests.
"This race is about education" of voters as to what the court has done and the need to vote in the race, he said.
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