[otw_shortcode_dropcap label=”O” font=”Lobster Two” size=”large” border_color_class=”otw-no-border-color” square=”square”][/otw_shortcode_dropcap]n my list of all-time favorite Livingston County judges, Mike Hatty is right at the top. He’s fair, smart, funny, relatable and has never seemed to suffer from the Black Robe Disease that infected so many others to sit on the bench. He’s been great.
My No. 1 Favorite Livingston County Judge of All Time will always be the late Dave Gee, who was not only a terrific judge but also a magician, so it will be impossible to ever top that.
But I’ve always liked Mike Hatty, so I was sad to hear that he’ll be stepping down from the bench in March. He’s been a wonderful judge and we’ll miss him.
I first got to know Mike 30 years ago when he ran for the State Senate in 1994 as a conservative, pro-life Democrat. His opponent that year was Republican Mike Rogers, which allowed me to make an absolutely hilarious prediction in a column that year that Mike was going to win the election. Yes, I was a laugh riot.
The Senate district covered all of ruby-red Livingston County and a few outlying areas, so Mike Rogers won the race easily. A Democrat – even a pro-life one like Mike Hatty – didn’t stand a chance, but he ran a spirited, aggressive campaign that year.
Hatty became a judge in 2009 when the legendary Stan Latreille stepped down from the circuit court bench. The way it works in Michigan is that when a judge steps down in the middle of his or her term, the governor gets to appoint a successor. And the governor ALWAYS picks a person from their own political party.
The governor at the time was Democrat Jennifer Granholm, so she picked Democrat Mike Hatty to fill the seat.
That pick has worked out extremely well, so credit to Granholm for that.
AH, but Granholm is also the governor who gave us Judge Theresa Brennan – the worst judge Livingston County has ever seen, and one of the worst in Michigan history – so that more than erases everything good she did with the Mike Hatty pick.
If you’re making list of the worst things Jennifer Granholm did as governor, it’s hard to argue that anything was worse than giving Theresa Brennan a black robe.
So this is where we are now: Mike Hatty is retiring, and the governor now gets to pick his successor.
The governor, as you might know, is Gretchen Whitmer, who also happens to be a Democrat. What that means is that sometime in the next few weeks, Whitmer will be naming some Democratic attorney from Livingston County to be our next circuit court judge.
Now, back when Mike Hatty and Theresa Brennan were appointed, nobody in Livingston County was too surprised, because they were both well-known Democratic attorneys who had shown an interest in becoming judges. They were fairly obvious picks.
In 2024, there’s nobody obvious that fits that profile, so our next judge is most likely going to be a Democratic attorney that almost nobody here has ever heard of. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because the person might turn out to be a fine judge, but it’s a fact. In the next few weeks, we’re going to be getting a new judge that nobody has heard of.
And this appointment is important, because once a judge takes the bench in Livingston County, it’s going to pretty much be a lifetime appointment. Incumbent judges – even terrible ones like Theresa Brennan – NEVER, EVER LOSE when they run for re-election. Brennan ran for re-election three times against very viable, well-known opponents (Jay Drick twice and Dennis Brewer once), and she won every time. Incumbent judges never lose.
So this is an important pick that Whitmer is about to make. This anonymous Democratic attorney who is about to become our next judge will be on the bench forever.
In those terms, it’s interesting to look at the current makeup of the Livingston County bench. We have six judges – three circuit, two district and one probate. Even though these are nonpartisan positions, the political backgrounds of most of our judges are pretty obvious.
We have three judges that were appointed by Democratic governors: Mike Hatty (appointed by Granholm), Circuit Judge Matt McGivney (appointed by Whitmer) and District Judge Daniel Bain (also appointed by Whitmer). We will continue to have three Democratic-appointed judges once Hatty’s replacement is named.
We have one judge who was appointed by a Republican – District Judge Shauna Murphy, who was appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder.
The other two judges were both elected to the bench without first being appointed. Circuit Judge Suzanne Geddis was a district judge before being elected to the circuit court. Even though she wasn’t appointed by a governor, it’s common knowledge that she’s a Republican.
Probate Court Judge Miriam Cavanaugh was also elected on her own. I’m sure her friends know, but I don’t know if she’s a Republican or Democrat or whatever.
So that’s the lay of the land on the Livingston County bench. Three judges appointed by Democrats, one judge appointed by a Republican and two who weren’t appointed by anyone.
Now, while all of this political stuff is interesting, it’s also true that their political affiliation should not – and usually DOES not – influence anything they do on the bench. And since they’ve been on the bench, you never hear about McGivney or Bain making Democratic rulings or Murphy making Republican rulings.
But it’s also naive to think that for any judge, their political leanings will never come into play, so you have to pay attention to such things.
In any case, it’s appropriate at this time to thank Mike Hatty for being such a terrific judge and to wish him well for whatever the future might hold. Godspeed and good luck, Judge!
And to you, Gov. Whitmer – please consider this appointment carefully. We’re going to have this next judge with us for a long, long time.
