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Chief Justice Elizabeth A. Weaver (retired 2010) served nearly 36 years on the bench: twelve years as a probate/juvenile judge in Leelanau County; eight years as a Court of Appeals judge, and nearly sixteen years as a justice (two as chief justice) on the Michigan Supreme Court. She was elected and re-elected—never appointed—by the people of Michigan to each judgeship. This daughter of New Orleans came north to pursue her dream of helping young people through education, justice, and law. She has made her home in Glen Arbor along the shores of Lake Michigan. Since her arrival, she has worked in both a private school (teaching French and serving as a dean of women students), and in a public school (teaching first grade), as an attorney, and as a judge and justice. As a member of the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame (inducted 2005), Weaver was recognized as “the people’s justice” for her integrity and devotion to the law. An advocate for the open and transparent administration of justice in the courts, she has been known for her principled stands against ideology and political chicanery on the bench—against misuse and abuse of government power. Her motto is “Do Right and Fear Not.” Her website, www.justiceweaver.com, lists many of her recognitions and activities, including a serious interest in golf.
David B. Schock, Ph.D., is a former newspaper reporter and editor, and university and college professor. He earned his doctorate under the direction of Dr. Russell Kirk, perhaps America’s leading conservative thinker and historian of ideas. Schock also is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who specializes in chronicling unsolved homicides. He is best known for Who Killed Janet Chandler?, a 2004 film about the 25-year-old unsolved homicide of a Hope College student. The film led to the formation of a cold-case team that spent the next 18 months cracking the case. Six people went to prison as a result. He also is the auteur of Jack in the Box, Finding Diane, and Into the Dark. His website, www.delayedjustice.com, lists many of Michigan’s unsolved homicides. He also makes films about poets including Jump Back Honey: The Poetry and Performance of Herbert Woodward Martin and StarbyStar: Naomi Long Madgett, Poet & Publisher. Schock also is an active jazz trumpet player and appears with The River Rogues, a traditional Dixieland group.
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The late Betty Weaver was the Supreme Court version of the turd in the pool. She shook things up, she got people upset, but she called out the hypocrisy and intellectual chasm of the court well. She was a pack rat when it came to saving documents, even saving notes she scrounged from the trash. You don't want a court filled with Betty Weavers: it would be the end of collegial dialogue. But you need to have one to make sure it doesn't become a self-serving club (or at least call folks out when that happens). RIP Betty. You were a hell of a gal!
Slow, unfocused..... will she ever say what she wants so terribly badly to say .....Great integrity, and great insight into her fellow justices .... As much as I love her for her stand up attitude ....there was way too much cvhaff.
I recommend Judicial Deceit to any lawyer or student of government. What Robert Caro did with Lyndon Johnson--showing how action upon action over years built to where LBJ could pass legislation where none of his predecessors could--here Weaver and Schock show how secret upon secret built a Michigan Supreme Court virtually unaccountable to any agency or balancing force. If the book had been shorter the authors would be accused of cherry picking their examples so the length of the book really is necessary to place the actions of the Justices in realistic context. Weaver proposes a change to the way Michigan both elects and selects the members of its Supreme Court and I will leave those proposals for future debates and books. Here the history goes from petty personal arguments to sweeping changes in legal construction of Common Law that boxed injured people out of their day in court. Pride, promotion, self-interest, fraud by omission and commission, this book has it all. Not an easy read for the Summer Beach crowd, but for government teachers and students of government it is eye-opening, well worth the effort.
Can be dry at times with a lot of speculation of intent on the part of players but a good book to point out the issue of too much ego and too little transparency in Michigan's highest court.
This book gives some great insider insight on what is going on these days with out judicial system. While it is often repetitive and while the story could have been told in half of these 765 pages, the fact is that no one else has told the story.
Courage and character are rare qualities in our government today. Elizabeth Weaver embodies those attributes and demonstrates their lack in others through this meticulous discussion of the failings of the highest Court in the State. A must-read for anyone concerned about justice, fair government, "dark money" and the pervasive and destructive element of influence on our core values.
