Five years ago, the Michigan Supreme Court struck down Gretchen Whitmer’s pandemic orders. Back then, it was a conservative, rule-of-law court. The justices then did something we now consider quaint, or even outmoded: They looked at the law and applied it, finding that the governor was using powers that were unconstitutional.
If the top court took that case in 2025, it might slap anyone challenging Whitmer with sanctions.
The court played a role in ending Whitmer’s pandemic powers, but nobody appreciated it, and the next three election cycles were disastrous. Since Nov. 2020, Democrat-nominated justices have won or been nominated to six of the seven seats on the court. Brian Zahra is the lone Republican-affiliated justice, the last voice of reason.
And now we have the results to show for it. This month the Michigan Supreme Court just ruled that nearly 600 killers have to be resentenced because they were only 19 or 20 at the time they killed people.
That’s not a misprint. These killers were not 11 or 13 or even 17. They were legal adults. Neither Michigan’s constitution nor its laws gives the court this power of resentencing, or the legal basis to justify it.
But the court has taken it anyway, and there’s not enough common sense around to stop it. With a runaway court, there are no checks and balances.
You don’t care about the Michigan Supreme Court? You should. It actually does matter who runs things.
If six Democrats in black robes can find in the Michigan Constitution the right to order the resentencing of adult murderers, buckle up. Because the injustice has only just begun.
Don’t think for a second that your work is done because you elected Trump twice. In 2026, you need to make politics local again. Trump won’t be on the ballot. Only the future of yourself, your family, and your state. Is that enough motivation?
Five years ago, when Whitmer was running the Michigan economy into the ground with lockdowns, Trump tweeted that she should “LIBERATE MICHIGAN.” It didn’t work, because it didn’t matter.
Trump in the White House cannot save you from the local reality of having the wrong people making decisions in your state. It did not last time. It will not next time.
Take an interest in the whole of the 2026 ballot, not just the top. Or Michigan will be lost the way Canada was lost—without much of a fight at all.
James David Dickson is host of the Enjoyer Podcast. Join him in conversation on X @downi75.
