The Volokh Conspiracy

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Justice Bagenstos?

A prominent progressive law professor seeks a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court

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This weekend, I learned that Sam Bagenstos, the Frank G. Millard Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, is running for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court. In addition to being a law professor and prolific scholar, Bagenstos has served in the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and a clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He is also an accomplished appellate advocate, having argued and won significant cases such as Young v. United Parcel Service.

If Professor Bagenstos becomes Justice Bagenstos he will not be the first member of the Michigan law faculty to join the Michigan Supreme Court. The Honorable Joan Larsen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit taught at Michigan before she was tapped for her state's high court. She served on that court for a few years before being nominated and confirmed to the federal appellate bench.