[nfbmi-talk] bernstein to run for sc

[joe harcz Comcast]

Attorney Richard Bernstein announces bid for Michigan Supreme Court By Paul Egan Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau Prominent Michigan attorney Richard Bernstein

will announce his candidacy for the Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday, his campaign said Tuesday. Bernstein, who is blind, will be seeking a Democratic

nomination for the state's highest court, where two full terms and one partial term will be contested in the Nov. 4 general election. Justice Brian Zahra,

a Republican-nominated incumbent, will be seeking a full eight-year term and Justice David Viviano, also a Republican-nominated incumbent, will be seeking

a partial term to complete the term of former Justice Diane Hathaway, a Democratic nominee who resigned in January 2013 and was later sent to federal prison

for bank fraud. There also will be an open seat for an eight-year term because Justice Michael Cavanagh, a Democratic nominee, can't run again due to judicial

age restrictions. Republican nominees currently hold a 5-2 majority on the court. Bernstein, an associate partner in the Sam Bernstein Law Firm in Farmington

Hills, said in a news release he is running "to ensure that the voices of all Michigan residents are heard and that fairness for all is a guiding principle

for the Court. Wayne County Circuit Judge Deborah Thomas has not made a formal announcement, but told the Free Press Tuesday she also will be seeking a

Democratic nomination. Kent County Circuit Judge James Redford is expected to seek the Republican nomination for the Cavanagh seat. Bernstein, a former

elected member of the Wayne State University Board of Governors, plans announcements Wednesday in Lansing, Flint and Detroit. Judicial nominations for

both parties are to be finalized at state party conventions on Aug. 23.