Elizabeth Ann Tripp "Beth" Clement (born October 8, 1977) is an American lawyer who serves as the chief justice of
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
since 2022. She has served as an associate justice of the
Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the state ...
since 2017, after being appointed by Governor
Rick Snyder
Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previ ...
.
Biography
Clement graduated from
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
in 1999 with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
, and she earned her
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
Michigan State University College of Law
The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the fi ...
in 2002. She owned and operated a private firm, Clement Law, PLLC, from 2002 to 2006, where she represented individuals and businesses primarily in the areas of
family law
Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
Overview
Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include:
* Marriage, ...
,
adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
,
probate
Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...
,
estate planning
Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging, during a person's life, for the management and disposal of that person's estate during the person's life, in the event the person becomes incapacitated and after death. The planning inc ...
, and
criminal law
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...
.
Career
Legislative
Clement served in both legislative and executive branches of the Michigan government before being appointed to the bench. Before opening her own firm, Clement served as a legislative aide to State Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Rogers and a policy advisor and legal counsel to state Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop from 2006 through 2010.
In 2011, Clement joined the administration of Michigan's new governor, Rick Snyder, as deputy legal counsel. In 2014, Clement was promoted to deputy chief of staff and added the position of Snyder's cabinet secretary in 2015. She was promoted to Snyder's chief legal counsel in a staff shakeup by Snyder amidst the Flint water crisis in April 2016.
Judicial
On November 1, 2017, Justice
Joan Larsen
Joan Louise Larsen (born December 1, 1968) is an American attorney serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She previously was an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 20 ...
was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
to serve as a judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* Eastern District of Kentucky
* Western District of ...
. Larsen resigned from the Michigan Supreme Court soon after and received her commission on November 8, 2017. Clement was first mentioned as a potential candidate by the Gongwer News Service on November 1, 2017, and Clement's appointment was leaked to the press on November 15, 2017. Snyder formally appointed Clement to the Michigan Supreme Court on November 17, 2017. Clement is the third woman to serve in this seat on the Court during its eight-year term that was last up for election in 2010.
Mary Beth Kelly
Mary Beth Kelly is a lawyer and former justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. She was elected on November 2, 2010 and took office on January 1, 2011 for an eight-year term that ended on January 1, 2019.David Viviano
David Viviano (born December 8, 1971) is a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, appointed by Governor Rick Snyder on February 28, 2013, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Justice Diane Hathaway. Prior to his appointment to the Mi ...
) to join the Court's two Democratic justices to allow a proposal that would create an independent commission to draw the state's Congressional boundaries to proceed to the November ballot.
There was speculation that the Michigan Republican Party might have not endorsed Clement or nominated another candidate in her place. (Though candidates for the Michigan Supreme Court run on the non-partisan section of the ballot, the major two political parties nominate candidates for each seat) Clement was booed at the Michigan Republican Convention in August 2018 when her name was brought up for nomination for a full term, but she was nominated for a full term along with fellow incumbent Justice Kurtis T. Wilder. Clement later said she faced "bullying" and unusual "outside pressure" to vote to keep the redistricting proposal off the ballot. Clement's name and picture were even kept off literature distributed by volunteers before the 2018 mid-term elections, a decision a Michigan GOP spokesman said was driven by the fact that some volunteers felt uncomfortable supporting Clement. Despite this opposition, Clement was the only person nominated by the Michigan Republican Party to win a statewide election in 2018.
Personal life
Clement resides in
East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...
with her husband and four children. Her husband, Thomas P. Clement, has served as general counsel to the Michigan Supreme Court since May 2016.