Please Save the Date! 2013 WLAM Annual Meeting, April 12, 2013 at the beautiful Book Cadillac

FURTHERING HERSTORY TOGETHER

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Press Release

Contact: Marla Linderman, WLAM Candidate Rating and Endorsement
Committee Chair
Phone:   810.220.0600 (office) or 734.368.1209 (cell)

Women Lawyers Association of Michigan is proud to announce its ratings and endorsements of judicial candidates for office.

Thirty-eight judicial candidates voluntarily consented to WLAM's rigorous process which includes an extensive written questionnaire and a background check. The background check required sitting judges to provide the contact information for 3 attorneys they had ruled against on major issues as well as references; attorneys had to provide contact information for 3 opposing attorneys. Supreme Court candidates also had oral interviews.

WLAM is an organization proud to be a conglomeration of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats, men and women, and our members have diverse views. As such, WLAM has taken no position regarding abortion and wishes to make it clear that a candidate's position, whether pro-life or pro-choice, was not considered in rating any candidate.

WLAM hereby endorses the following individuals who are running for judicial office:

Connie Marie Kelley

Bridget Mary McCormack

WLAM hereby rates the following individuals who are running for judicial office
as indicated by rating in alphabetical order:

The ratings were based on the following criteria:
Each candidate, for either elected or appointed office, will be given one of the following ratings: Outstanding, Well-qualified, Qualified, or No Rating. These ratings are defined as follows:

Outstanding:

to be rated "outstanding" the candidate must exhibit exceptional qualities for judicial service. The candidate must have excellent legal ability, wide experience, wisdom, intellect, insight, impartiality and judicial temperament. The candidate should have generally participated in numerous civic, charitable, and political activities in the community and professional bar organizations. The candidate should be acclaimed in the legal community as affirmatively supporting and/or promoting the position of all women in society and a demonstrated record of advancing women in the legal profession.

Well-qualified:

to be rated "well-qualified" the candidate must exhibit superior qualities for judicial service. The candidate must have very good legal ability, wide experience, wisdom, intellect, insight, and impartiality. The candidate should have generally participated in civil, charitable, or political activities in the community and professional bar organizations. The candidate should be acknowledged in the legal community as affirmatively supporting and/or promoting the position of all women in society and a demonstrated record of advancing women in the legal profession.

Qualified:

to be rated "qualified" the candidate must exhibit the essential qualities of, and a fitness for judicial service. The candidate must have good legal ability, experience, wisdom, intellect, insight, and impartiality. The candidate should have participated in civil, charitable, or political activities in the community or professional bar organizations. The candidate should be seen in the legal community as affirmatively supporting and/or promoting the position of all women in society and a demonstrated record of advancing women in the legal profession.

No rating:

a candidate will not be rated if there is insufficient information available to the CREC regarding the candidate's fitness for judicial office, a candidate requests that no rating be given, or the Committee finds that the candidate does not meet the standards of qualifications set by the Committee as set forth above.

WLAM Statement Condemning Free Speech Violation in Michigan House of Representatives Garners National Attention

Remarks from WLAM were featured in an Associated Press (AP) article on
the response to the recent banning of State Reps. Lisa Brown (D - West
Bloomfield) and Barb Byrum (D - Onondaga) from their rights and
responsibilities to participate in debate on the House floor.  Reps.
Brown and Byrum were barred from debate on the final day of session
(June 14) prior to the legislature's summer recess for comments that
House Republican leaders deemed to be lacking "decorum."  Following is
an excerpt from the AP release:

The Women Lawyers Association of Michigan — whose 650 members include
men — criticized taking away Brown's and Byrum's right to speak. The
group said it wasn't taking a position on the bills in question, but on
the lawmakers' free speech rights.

"Representatives Brown and Byrum had a right to have their
constituents' 150,000 voices recognized on June 14, 2012. They were
neither vulgar nor disrespectful," the group wrote in a Monday release.
"When the minority is silenced, justice cannot prevail and democracy
suffers."

Links:

Associated Press Article (one version of many available online)

WLAM Press Release

2012 Annual Meeting

April 26-27, 2012 at the Gerald R. Ford Museum and Amway Grand Plaza - Thank you Grand Rapids!

We hope to see you at our next Annual Meeting!

Join us in Grand Rapids at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum and Amway Grand Plaza Hotel for our 94th Annual Meeting! 

Go to our home page to download the Registration Form.