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In 2008, Chief Justice Cliff Taylor lost his bid for re-election to the Michigan Supreme Court to Justice Diane Marie Hathaway. The result of that election was of particular importance to the legal community and court watchers in Michigan because, as one Michigan newspaper put it, “Many of the most controversial recent decisions by the seven-member [Michigan Supreme] Court have been issued by a Taylor-led, four-vote conservative majority.” Court watchers and opinion leaders have observed the Michigan Supreme Court’s trends since the 2008 election to determine whether the shift in judicial philosophy that many expected had indeed come to pass. To help shed further light on that question, this paper intends to analyze several areas of law that the Michigan Supreme Court has considered since Justice Hathaway took her seat, with special emphasis on areas of the law that have the potential of directly impacting Michigan’s economy.

Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes no positions on particular legal and public policy matters. Any expressions of opinion are those of the author. We welcome responses to the views presented here. To join the debate, please email us at info@fedsoc.org.