Justice Kelly Leaving Michigan Supreme Court 3 Years Early

By DAVID EGGERT
Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan Supreme Court Justice Mary Beth Kelly announced Monday she will leave the bench early for private practice with more than three years left in her term.

The 53-year-old Kelly's surprise departure will take effect Oct. 1. She is among five Republican nominees on the seven-member court.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to have served on our state's highest court," Kelly said in a statement. "I leave the Supreme Court knowing that our judicial system is better equipped to help families and children."

Kelly won election to an eight-year term in 2010. GOP Gov. Rick Snyder will name her successor, who will serve through next year but could run in November 2016 to finish the remainder of Kelly's term through 2018.

"Justice Kelly has written important opinions and made her presence felt on this bench," Chief Justice Robert Young Jr. said in a statement. "In particular, my colleagues and I have appreciated the experience and insights she brought from leading the state's largest circuit court."

Kelly will join Bodman PLC's Detroit office, where she will become vice chair of the firm's litigation and alternative dispute resolution practice group.

She said she feels like she achieved her public service objectives and returning to private practices will "open many community service opportunities that I could not pursue as a Supreme Court justice."

Kelly was a Wayne County circuit judge from 1999-2010 and is the only woman to serve as chief judge of that court.

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