Continuing Stateside’s conversations with Supreme Court candidates, Justice Brian Zahra spoke with Cyndy about his candidacy.
Justice Brian began the show by recapping his political past.
“I’ve been a judge for 18 years; in 1994 I became a Wayne Circuit Judge. Then I was appointed to the Court of appeals where I served for 12 years and then the past few years on the Supreme Court. “
When asked about his
“Every Supreme Court in our land has from time to time overturned prior decisions of the court. The Michigan Supreme Court is unique in that we actually have a case that defines what we should look to before reversing a prior decision case. You have to look at the reliance factors, what affect it would have to change that rule, you look at how long it’s been entrenched. Other Supreme Courts will just reverse it on a case-by-case basis. We have a set of standards to decide this.”
Justice Zahra had a decisive notion about the role a Michigan judiciary should have in political issues.
“Courts traditionally try to stay out of political issues. It’s a little different at the state level, I think an appearance is created of political participation by virtue of the fact that Michigan is unique to all the other 50 states in that Supreme Court Justices are nominated by political parties and then run on a non-partisan basis. I would like to see a system where we get rid of these party nominations,” said Zahra.
Zahra’s comments echoed what many of our previous Supreme Court candidates said about the court system.
“It’s unbelievable that we have so many people undecided about which Supreme Court justice they’re voting for. I personally think the judges should be appointed by the governor. In this way we take out the need to raise funds,” said Zahra.
Zahra again referenced his extensive political past to confirm his candidacy.
“I’ve been a judge for 18 years and I’ve tried to make a difference. I’ve expressed nothing but fidelity to the law. I am intellectually honest and no one can ask for anything more from a judge.”
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