State Supreme Court Justice Robert Young plans to retire at the end of next month, if not sooner. His plan is to return to his former law firm.
Justice Young went from being an insurance attorney to a judge on the state Court of Appeals, and then to the Michigan Supreme Court, most of the time as part of a Republican majority. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1999 by Governor John Engler, and is now the senior justice.
Young served six years as chief justice – an unusually long period of time to hold the position. His biggest legacy might be restoring a measure of cordiality on the court after years of infighting among the justices.
Young’s retirement gives Governor Rick Snyder his fourth appointment to the state Supreme Court. That new justice will then be able to run for the seat in 2018 as an incumbent