Michael Cavanagh

Michael Cavanagh

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Michigan Supreme Court

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Education

Bachelor's

University of Detroit, 1962

Law

University of Detroit, Mercy School of Law, 1966

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Michael F. Cavanagh was a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court. He was elected to the court in 1982 and won re-election in 1990, 1998, and 2006. He served as the court's chief justice from 1991 to 1995. Cavanagh retired from the bench on January 1, 2015.

Elections

2006

Cavanagh was nominated by the state Democratic party, though judges officially run as nonpartisan officials in Michigan. He won with 78% of the vote, defeating Jane Beckering. That year, his campaign raised $307,738.

Education

Cavanagh received his undergraduate degree from the University of Detroit in 1962 and his J.D. degree from the University of Detroit Law School in 1966.

Career

• 1982-2015: Justice, Michigan Supreme Court
• 1975-1982: Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals
• 1971-1975: Judge, Michigan 54A Judicial District Court
• 1969-1971: Partner, Farhat, Burns and Story, P.C.
• 1967-1969: Lansing City Attorney
• 1966-1967: Law clerk, Michigan Court of Appeals

Awards and assocations

Associations

• Former chairman of the board, American Heart Association
• Past president, Incorporated Society of Irish/American Lawyers
• Board of directors, Thomas M. Cooley Law School
• Member, Commission on the Future of the University of Detroit Mercy

For a complete list of Justice Cavanagh's civic activities, please visit: Michigan Supreme Court, "Biography of Michael Cavanagh"

Notable opinions

Waterway rights

Justices Marilyn Kelly and Michael Cavanagh dissented from the Michigan Supreme Court's ruling that the Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation has no standing to sue to protect waterways that Nestle Waters North America draws from. Justice Elizabeth Weaver wrote the decision is an "assault" on the rights of residents to protect the state's natural resources, and fellow justices, Kelly and Cavanagh relied on a theory that bodies of water are interconnected, according to MLive.

Inadmissable evidence

In a 2006 case, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the First Amendment does not protect a six-year sexual harassment case from dismissal because the plaintiff and her attorneys ignored a judge's warning not to publicize an expunged criminal conviction. The high court decision reversed a ruling from the Michigan Court of Appeals. Cavanagh was one of three dissenting justices, and wrote one of the two minority opinions in the case.

Affirmative action petition

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in 2006 that the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative should appear on the statewide ballot. The majority opinion written by Justice Markman stated: "The signers of these petitions did not sign the oral representations made to them by circulators; rather they signed written petitions that contained the actual language of the (ballot question). In carrying out the responsibilities of self-government, 'we the people' of Michigan are responsible for our own actions...[a person who signed the petition] ...cannot blame others when he signs a petition without knowing what it says." Cavanagh and Marilyn Kelly dissented from the court majority and said they would have granted an appeal.

Political ideology

See also: Political ideology of State Supreme Court Justices

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.

Cavanagh received a campaign finance score of -0.75, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of 0.05 that justices received in Michigan.

The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.

See also

• Courts in Michigan
• Michigan Supreme Court
• Judicial selection in Michigan

External links

• Michigan Supreme Court, "Biographies of the Justices"
• Project Vote Smart, "Justice Michael F. Cavanagh (MI)"
• League of Women Voters, "Supreme Court Campaign 2006"
• BNET.com, "Michigan harassment case ends with published evidence," August 23, 2006