By Ravynne Gilmore, Court Relations Program Coordinator, Public Information Office, Michigan Supreme Court
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| Justice Elizabeth M. Welch |
Justice Welch's previous positions provided her with ample experience tackling complex systems, which she says required "hard, patient work, a lot of compromises, and willingness to work through intransigent existing rules to figure out how to change them." She brought these same skills with her to work on the complex problems within our courts when she joined the Court on January 1, 2021.
She graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor's degree in 1992 and her law degree from Ohio State University in 1995. After law school, she moved to Kentucky to practice labor and employment law in Louisville. She then returned to Grand Rapids to practice with a local firm before starting her own firm in 2004.
Justice Welch based her run for the Supreme Court on a platform of accessibility, transparency, and reimagining what the justice system could be to better serve those in our communities. In 2020, that message became even more relevant. Justice Welch credits being a "systems thinker" and her past experiences for her timely views.
Justice Welch speaks enthusiastically about having the opportunity to spend some quality time with her husband and four adult children on the heels of her completing one of the more challenging aspects of her new position: submitting Supreme Court opinions. “People did warn me about July. That it is a crazy schedule because we have to push all of our opinions out by the end of the term, which is July 31."
Justice Welch spent her first eight months as a justice working extremely long hours learning the new job, the team, the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) staff, and the nuances of all the different work that's happening. She said, "I am now confident that I have a good handle on the job, and I'm eager to get going again with oral arguments in October."
Advancing toward her first anniversary on the bench, Justice Welch shares how the position compares with her previous expectations. "There is this narrative that people want to paint the Court as this highly contentious, fractured environment. They want to make it about politics and partisanship, but we are nonpartisan,” she explained. “Of course, people have different values and philosophies on legal interpretation, but I would like people to know how hard the justices work to work together. It has been fascinating. We make decisions by committee, and there are seven of us.”
Justice Welch continued, “The media often focuses on the decisions that are 4-3, but if you go through the opinions, a vast number are not decided 4-3. It has been fascinating working in an environment where your peers are committed to doing what is right in their elected service. It does not always mean we agree, but I have been pleased with how hard everyone works to find a consensus."
In fact, Justice Welch further praised the hard work of her now-peers as a motivating factor to run for Michigan Supreme Court Justice. "Even though I have spent an enormous amount of time working on decisions, I have spent most of August and September working pretty long hours on administrative issues to, hopefully, make the courts more accessible, transparent, and equitable,” she said. “Our Court is very committed to that, which was a huge motivator for running. I thought, ‘Wow, what an exciting moment where I can be part of a team to reimagine the justice system and how it can help everyone.’ Then 2020 happened, and it became even more prominent."
Justice Welch explained, "In response to COVID-19, technology has been a big game-changer in accessing the courts. We know that the number of people showing up now for their hearings is through the roof. Fewer people are missing court dates. Now, that is not to say there aren't huge challenges; there are, and our trial court judges have done a miraculous job managing those. They are managing waiting rooms and people not showing up appropriately attired—lots of challenges. The stories are unbelievable!"
She laughed (maybe thinking about the lawyer who said he was not a cat) and continued, "But we know that people are showing up because the barrier to getting to court doesn't exist anymore. Of course, technology barriers are an issue, but overall, people are making huge strides in showing up. It wasn't just that they didn't want to come to court; it was that they couldn't get to court. They couldn't figure out transportation, parking, or they couldn’t take an entire day off of work or find affordable child care.”
Nearly every aspect of Justice Welch's experience as justice, so far, has been virtual. An early adopter of online video conference technology, she explained, "I had been using Zoom for about five years prior, so the technology wasn't new. I hired all of my staff on Zoom. We went six months without having met in person."
Justice Welch has also found videoconferencing technology practical for large committee meetings. "You might have 30 to 50 people in a committee. That's pretty hard to get everyone to drive to Lansing. Maybe it makes sense to meet in person once in a while, but we can be on Zoom most of the time."
So how does she imagine the Court will look in 20 years? "I think the decisions we make now will have a lot of impact on the future. Our court systems primarily looked the same as they did 150 years ago, and other than some new technology added to the courtroom, they have not changed,” said Justice Welch. “I do think the technology is here to stay. I think we will see the courtroom physically look similar with more technology embedded to allow for more online access."
What Justice Welch thinks will change even more is accessibility for unrepresented individuals in the civil justice system. "The Justice for All Commission is working on that. The way we help people navigate the courts will look different. That's the part where I think we'll see the most change in 20 years.”
Justice Welch offered one last take: "Ultimately, there's an opportunity that we have captured. There have been enormous challenges during the past year, but there is also a silver lining of innovation."
