49 Days to Go: Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thomas

Tuesday Twofer

Sep 17, 2024

Who: Kyra Harris Bolden and Kimberly Ann Thomas

Where: Michigan Supreme Court

Why: Out of the 83 state supreme court seats in 33 states up for election this year, two seats in Michigan are among the most closely-watched. Michigan’s Supreme Court is currently composed of four Democrats and three Republicans. The outcome of this election could expand the Democratic majority to five, maintain the status quo, or flip the court to Republican control. In Michigan, the election of Supreme Court justices is nonpartisan, but candidates are nominated at state party conventions.

In 2020, the liberal majority on the court twice denied partisan requests to delay certification of election results. It allowed residents of Flint to sue the state for its failure to address lead-tainted drinking water, and it ruled on several voting rights and gerrymandering cases.

Kyra Harris Bolden is serving her second year on the state’s highest court, having been appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to serve a partial term after a justice stepped down. In addition to practicing criminal defense and civil litigation law, she served in the state House of Representatives for two terms where she focused on criminal justice reform and legislation to protect survivors of sexual violence. She is running against Republican Patrick O’Grady, a circuit court judge, for the remaining four years of the term. O’Grady has been endorsed by Trump and during the campaign, has indicated that he would bring his “Christian worldview” to the bench, even though Christians have hardly cornered the market on justice.

Kimberly Ann Thomas, a law professor at the University of Michigan and director and co-founder of the Juvenile Justice Clinic there, is running for an open seat (with a full eight-year term) against Andrew Fink, a conservative state legislator. Fink is an election denier who alongside armed protesters attended a January 6 “Stop the Steal” rally at the State Capitol in Lansing. He has also introduced legislation to limit LGBTQ+ rights and voted against measures to make it easier for people to vote.

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