Incumbents, McCormack elected to Michigan Supreme Court

Voters returned two incumbents to the state Supreme Court in yesterday’s election, but there will also be a new face on the state’s highest court.

This is the third time Justice Stephen Markman has won an election to the state Supreme Court.

He wrote the 2008 opinion that says Michigan’s amendment banning gay marriage also outlaws public employers from offering same-sex domestic partner benefits.

Justice Brian Zahra was named to the court last year by Governor Rick Snyder to fill a vacancy. Their election guarantees the court will continue its four-three Republican majority.

There will also be a new member of the court next year.

University of Michigan law professor Bridget Mary McCormack will fill a vacancy created by a retirement. She is a Democrat.

Republicans tried to make an issue of her work defending people who may have been wrongly convicted, and her offer to serve as legal counsel to an accused terrorist being held at Guantanamo.