LSJ Blogs: Capitol Journal by Scott Davis

High court smackdown: No secret recordings allowed

Michigan’s high court has spoken: It doesn’t like it when someone secretly records their conversations – even if it’s one of their own.

This week, a majority of the Michigan Supreme Court censured one its former colleagues, former Justice Elizabeth Weaver, for revealing last month that she had secretly recorded some of the court’s private deliberations.

She went on to blast Justice Robert Young Jr., while he was facing a heated election challenge, for making what she believed were racially charged and insensitive comments during deliberations.
Justices who supported the censure said that Weaver never asked permission to tape the sessions – and they would have denied permission.

Weaver, for her part, says she merely was exercising her right to free speech, and that the court violated the Code of Judicial Conduct in issuing her censure because the Judicial Tenure Commission had issued no recommendation.

Of course, in this age of digital media, secret audio recordings seem lame. Where’s the video? Where are the YouTube uploads?

Seems like it would be easy enough to hide a small Flip camera in the flowing folds of a black gown. What say you, justices?

Senate Republicans to continue review of Snyder picks

It may be a matter of going through the motions, but Republican Senate leaders say they intend to continue to hold advice and consent hearings on major appointments by GOP Gov.-elect Rick Snyder.

The Senate Republicans revived the review process after Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm won office in 2002, and there had been some speculation that it would fall by the wayside with the rise of a new Republican governor.

"I think we'll still plan on holding hearings. It's not a bad idea to ask some questions, let the public know what's going on," Senate Majority Leader-elect Randy Richardville told Gongwer News. "I think we'll probably do it on a case-by-case basis. We still have a responsibility to vet these people."

Even so, no one is expecting Senate Republicans to ride roughshod over Snyder’s appointments – as they did over several of Granholm’s appointments late in her administration.

Such are the perks of one-party rule in Lansing.

Downsized Senate Dems: Leadership spots for all

You know you’re the minority caucus when you can parcel out leadership positions to every member of your group.

 That seems to be the case for the state Senate Democrats, who recently selected leaders for the much-downsized group, which took a shellacking in Nov. 2 election. The group, which lost four Democratic Senate seats in the 38-member Republican-controlled chamber, doled out leadership positions to every single senator in the 12-member Democratic minority caucus.

East Lansing’s Gretchen Whitmer was handed the top slot of minority leader, and Tupac Hunter of Detroit was named Democratic floor leader, and on it went. Other posts given out were whip, caucus chair, assistant leader, assistant floor leader, assistant whip, assistant caucus chair, associate president pro tempore, appropriations Democratic vice chair, campaign chair and campaign finance chair.

 Something for everything. Now that’s real egalitarian democracy.

Bernero barely took Ingham County

Some political strategists are saying Lansing mayor Virg Bernero ran a credible, aggressive campaign for governor in a year when his party was in disfavor in Michigan and nationally. But there’s no questioning the Democrat got trounced big-time.

Republican Rick Snyder swept 78 of 83 counties in Tuesday’s election. Bernero barely won in his home turf of Ingham County, barely taking it by four-tenths of a percentage point. Ouch.

Still, Bernero easily took Lansing, grabbing 60 percent of the vote compared to 37 percent won by Snyder. Bernero also took Genesee, Wayne, Washtenaw and Gogebic counties.

Time will tell whether Bernero finds these results discouraging enough to dissuade him from another statewide race in the future. America’s Angriest U.S. Senator?