Updated at 3:21PM: Michigan appeals court Judge Kurtis Wilder has been promoted to the state Supreme Court.
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder announced the appointment Tuesday, three weeks after Robert Young Jr. resigned. Wilder is considered a conservative judge who has spent nearly two decades on the appeals court.
Wilder says it's his job to "say what the law is, not what it ought to be."
Republicans have a 5-2 majority on the Supreme Court. Snyder has appointed four of the seven justices; three of those four have subsequently won election on their own.
Snyder appointee Joan Larsen is being nominated by President Donald Trump for a seat on a federal appeals court. She will continue to be a Supreme Court justice while her nomination is pending in the U.S. Senate.
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Gov. Rick Snyder is set to name a new justice to the Michigan Supreme Court.
The Republican governor has scheduled a Tuesday afternoon news conference to announce his pick. Former Justice Robert Young Jr. resigned last month to return to a law firm.
Republicans have a 5-2 majority on the Supreme Court.
Young's successor will be able to seek election for a full eight-year term in 2018.
With this choice, Snyder will have appointed four of the justices on the seven-member court who have since won election. One of his appointees, Joan Larsen, is being nominated by President Donald Trump for a federal appeals court judgeship.
So Snyder could have another spot to fill if Larsen wins Senate confirmation.
