Snyder Names Zahra to Supreme Court

Just before the New Year, Michigan got an all-too-brief taste of what a State Supreme Court, with a majority of justices that properly interpret environmental law, could do.

That short-lived moment came in the form of a majority opinion penned by Justice Alton Thomas Davis --- who regrettably lost his re-election bid and is no longer seated on the bench. The opinion overruled a lower court that said citizens could not sue the state over environmental harm. Davis' ruling put that necessary tool back in the hands of voters who seek to hold their government accountable.

Now, all of that is set to change again. Governor Snyder has appointed Judge Brian Zahra to the Supreme Court --- a District Appellate Judge with a history of ruling in the same pattern of environmental opponents like Chief Justice Bob Young and Cliff Taylor. Already, Young has vowed to overturn Davis' ruling and, in Zahra, he is now likely to have the last vote he needs to do so.

Zahra’s most notable environmental ruling was back in 2008 where he was (fortunately) in the minority. He was the lone dissenter in a 2008 ruling that required industrial farms to report the contents and location of the ongoing disposal of toxic animal waste products. His position, which would hide this important information from effected Michigan citizens, is a discouraging precedent for his upcoming tenure on the state's highest court.

> This issue was highlighted on our "How Green is Your Governor?" page.