The Michigan Supreme Court's statistics

     As reported by Michigan Lawyer's Weekly in August, the Supreme Court published 47 full opinions during its 2006-7 term.  In seven of those cases, it issued holdings that overturned 8 prior Michigan Supreme Court precedents.  Nearly all of these precedents were over-turned by the same four member majority who were hand-selected by Governor Engler and appointed to the appellate courts.  Most folks (and all jurists) would agree that overturning a precedent in every sixth decision is evidence of a highly "activist" judiciary.