LANSING (AP) -- John Engler spent 12 long, patient years as governor placing nearly 200 judges -- including three Supreme Court justices -- who supported his conservative judicial philosophy onto state courts.
But a little-known Wayne County judge toppled one of those justices from his seat on Tuesday, sending shock waves through business and Republican groups and foreshadowing what could be a substantial weakening of the judicial juggernaut Engler created.
For Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer, Judge Diane Marie Hathaway's upset win over Chief Justice Clifford Taylor couldn't have come at a better time.
The state's highest court will have final say over redistricting maps drawn up after the 2010 census, and Brewer was running out of time to chip away at the court's 5-2 Republican majority. He fears a GOP-dominated court will favor plans that give Republicans an edge in congressional and state legislative seats.
But Brewer -- along with trial lawyers, unions and others who found the current court's majority opinions too tied to business interests for the past nine years -- also hopes that having three Democrats on the seven-member court and Republican Elizabeth Weaver's swing vote could lead to a change in direction.
"A big part of John Engler's agenda was to politicize the judiciary in this state. We think it's been a terrible disservice to the people of this state, and we're going to try to change it," Brewer said. "I'm not looking for a guaranteed outcome. ... All we're looking for is fair judges."
Robert LaBrant at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which ran ads supporting Taylor, sees the situation a lot differently. He prefers justices who interpret the law, not make it, a philosophy Taylor and three of the other GOP justices on the court say they share.
"They're going to take a look at the text of a statute, the text of a contract, the text of a constitution, and apply that," LaBrant said. If anyone doesn't like their interpretation, they tell them to change the law, "don't come to us to basically dream it all up."
How Weaver will rule now that she holds even more power as a swing vote remains to be seen. She and Taylor often knocked heads over how the court was run. Taylor accused her at one point of behaving like a "petulant only child." Weaver accused Taylor and the other GOP justices of abusing their power.
But LaBrant notes that Weaver often sides with her fellow Republicans on opinions even when she's chastising them over administrative issues. He doesn't think Taylor's defeat means a drastic change in the court's direction.
"There are likely to be cases where business finds itself on the short end of a 4-3 vote, or maybe even worse," he said. "But I don't think ... it's doom and gloom."
During his three terms as governor, Engler filled 188 judgeships, including three appointments to the state's highest court and 17 to the second-highest, the Court of Appeals. The state has about 660 judgeships, ranging from district courts up to the Michigan Supreme Court.
He also rearranged the Court of Appeals districts, a move Brewer said was done to make the districts more favorable to Republicans.
In contrast, Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm has appointed 91 judges during her six years in office, including five to the Court of Appeals but none to the Supreme Court. Court of Appeals Judge Michael Smolenski plans to resign effective Jan. 1 for health reasons, giving Granholm a sixth opening on that court to fill.
But she must leave office in 2010 because of term limits, decreasing her ability to match Engler's stamp on the courts.
Taylor, who turns 66 today, was one of three people appointed by Engler to the Court of Appeals and then to the Supreme Court during the 1990s. The other two were Robert Young Jr. and Stephen Markman. Maura Corrigan was elected to a spot on the Supreme Court in 1998 after Engler named her to the Court of Appeals in 1992.
Engler left office in 2002, and some of his appointees have retired or moved to other positions. But most have remained in place and could still be there for a decade or more, frustrating those who had hoped Granholm's election would weaken Engler's legacy.
Still, many of those angered by the rulings of the so-called "Gang of Four" -- Taylor, Young, Markman and Corrigan -- see Taylor's loss as the most significant breach among top-level Engler-appointed judges manning the judicial ramparts.
The Democrats could gain a majority in 2010 if they could defeat either Young or Weaver, the only two justices up for re-election that year. It's unclear if Weaver will run for re-election, although she'll be 69 in 2010 and therefore eligible for one more eight-year term.
Democrats also want to hold onto the governorship in 2010, giving them the chance to continue filling judicial openings.
"Eight years isn't enough to undo the damage," said Mark Grebner, a Democrat who runs Practical Political Consulting in East Lansing. "But (with) 12 years or 16 years, it will make it hard for Republicans to hold onto their judgeships. People retire."
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