3/17/08

The State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly will have a special guest at its meeting in Lansing on Saturday, April 12. The Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, Clifford W. Taylor, will report on recent developments facing the judiciary during the RA session, which will take place at the Lansing Community College M-TEC Center at 5708 Cornerstone. His remarks are scheduled for 9:40 a.m. The Representative Assembly meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. and is expected to last until 3 p.m.

Chief Justice Taylor was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court in August 1997 by Gov. John Engler to fill the seat vacated by retiring Justice Dorothy Comstock Riley. In 1998, Justice Taylor was elected to fill the balance of Justice Riley's term. Justice Taylor was re-elected to a full eight-year term in 2000. He's up for re-election this November.

"We are honored to have Chief Justice Taylor use the RA as the forum to present this report," said Robert Gardella, chair of the Representative Assembly. "The Assembly is truly a diverse group that gives an accurate reading of the pulse of the legal profession. Our members work hard to put together thoughtful proposals to resolve issues that confront our system of justice."

Assembly members will consider the following proposals at the meeting: political and judicial endorsements by Assembly officers; ABA Model Court Rule on provision of legal services following determination of a major disaster; preservation of electronic recordings; discovery to apply to misdemeanors and civil infractions as well as felony cases; providing copies of pre-sentence reports to defendant and defense counsel; and the use of cell phones by lawyers in courthouses.

The Representative Assembly is composed of 150 lawyers from throughout the state and is the final policy-making body of the State Bar of Michigan.

###