Investiture Ceremony For The Honorable Diane M. Hathaway

January 8, 2009

Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly:  Good afternoon, most distinguished ladies and gentlemen.  It’s a great privilege for me on behalf of my colleagues to welcome you to our courtroom.  We appreciate your attendance here today as we officially welcome our newest justice and she becomes a member of this Court.

At this time it’s my pleasure to introduce to you the other justices of the Court, aside from our newest member, and they are in order of seniority:  Justice Michael Cavanagh, Justice Elizabeth Weaver, Justice Maura Corrigan, Justice Stephen Markman, and Justice Robert Young.  I’m sorry, Robert, I got that wrong; Robert Young and Stephen Markman.  Now I understand that Mr. Gaffney is acting as master of ceremonies here today and that he will introduce the speakers, so I will turn the proceedings over to him.

Mr. Mark Gaffney:  Thank you, Chief Justice Kelly.  With the Court’s permission, I would like to introduce myself.  I’m Mark Gaffney, the president of the Michigan

AFL-CIO and the master of ceremonies for today’s historic and happy events.  We are proud to be part of this historic investiture of Diane Hathaway as justice of our great state’s Supreme Court.  So, if it may please the Court, let me now introduce to you Ms. Alexandra Golden, Justice Hathaway’s niece, for the purpose of leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Ms. Alexandra Golden:  I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Mr. Gaffney:  Thank you Alexandra.  Now, with the Court’s permission, it is my honor at this time to introduce Kym L. Worthy, the Wayne County Prosecutor.  Ms. Worthy, like Diane Hathaway, began her career as an assistant prosecutor and then became a judge.  She’s a graduate of the University of Michigan and Notre Dame Law School.  She was appointed county prosecutor and reelected twice.  Prosecutor Worthy.

Ms. Kym L. Worthy:  Thank you very much.  It’s my pleasure to introduce the dignitaries and the judges that are here in the audience today.

Let me first say I’ve spent the better part of last year informing the public about the importance of the tenets of the system of American justice—some of you may know why—and it’s my pleasure to be here.  I’m going to make very, very short remarks.  Initially, I want to thank Justice Hathaway for embarking on this road.  I want to congratulate her.  And you know, if you meet the Hathaway family, they all take you into their bosom.  They’ve been very gracious to me; I’m very gracious to them.  I love and adore all of them, and I thank you, Diane.  Congratulations.

Let me start with the judges of the Court of Appeals; if they would all stand please.  We can hold our applause to the end.  The judges of the circuit court, all circuits.  Thank you.  Would all the district court judges stand, please?  Thank you.  The Lieutenant Governor will be speaking later on if he is here, John Cherry.  Attorney General [Michael] Cox is here.  And I believe—all other state officials would you please stand—state officials?  Would all county officials please stand?  Any local elected officers, please stand.  And also I believe that we have Justice Chuck Levin here as well.  I believe I see Judge Milton Mack from the probate court.  Any other probate court judges here?  I thank you very much, and enjoy the rest of the program.  Again, I thank you very much, and congratulations.

Mr. Gaffney:  Thank you, Prosecutor Worthy.  Now, with the Court’s indulgence, I would like to introduce to you Edward Ewell, Jr., judge of Michigan’s Third Circuit Court.  Judge Ewell is the presiding judge of the Third Circuit’s criminal division, which was, of course, Diane Hathaway’s former court.  Judge.

Judge Edward Ewell, Jr.:  May it please the Court.  Good afternoon, everybody.  Before I make the request that the Chief Justice come down to administer the oath, I just want to also, as Prosecutor Worthy stated, thank Justice Hathaway for allowing me to participate on this very auspicious occasion.  At this point in time, I humbly request or ask the Chief Justice to come down and administer the oath.

Court Crier:  All rise.

Chief Justice Kelly:  You know, I was going to make a couple of remarks, but I can’t do it with everybody standing, so why don’t you sit down for just a minute.  I just can’t resist, you know.  I can’t resist the opportunity to say a few words just before the swearing in, if you don’t mind too much.

Justice Diane M. Hathaway:  Okay.

Chief Justice Kelly:  Actually, you don’t have to sit down.

You know, it doesn’t seem all that long ago that I was in the same spot that Justice Hathaway is in here today.  It was January 8th in 1997 that I was sworn in.  And Patty Boyle was on the Court at that time, and she observed that day that she looked back over her own tenure on the Court.  And she said, “You know, this is a day for, obviously for the incoming justice and for her friends, and supporters, and family, but it’s more than that.  It’s also a day for history—it’s a day in history.”  One of Patty Boyle’s famous stories was that shortly after she joined the Court in 1983, she—there were all men but her at that point—they were in the conference room working on an opinion—it was her opinion—they agreed to sign it if she made a few changes.  So she rushed back to her chambers, made the changes, rushed back to the conference room, only to find it empty except for one staff person—one male staff person who, as it turned out, had lingered—and he told her that the others, the justices, were off on a prior commitment.  They had a golf date, and she hadn’t been invited.  So she went back to her office and wrote a memo as follows:  “On today’s date you unfortunately had to leave the conference early because of a prior commitment.  I think it only fair to advise you that at next week’s conference, I similarly will have a prior commitment and will be leaving early.  I’m attending a Tupperware party.”  And after that Patty Boyle was always invited to the outings with the other justices.

Well, needless to say, a good deal has changed since then.  And today we have a majority of women on the Court.  This has only happened once before, and that was in 1997 and it didn’t last long—it only lasted nine months.  It bears remembering that of the 104 justices who have served on this Court, only 7 have been women.  But each of them has in her own way made a contribution to the jurisprudence of the state—to its history and the betterment of the administration of justice in Michigan.  And I fully hope and expect that the same will be true for Justice Hathaway.

Now with that, Justice Hathaway, if you will come, and ladies and gentlemen, if you’d like to rise.  Please raise your right hand and repeat after me.  I Diane Marie Hathaway . . .

Justice Hathaway: I Diane Marie Hathaway . . .

Chief Justice Kelly: . . . do solemnly swear . . .

Justice Hathaway: . . . do solemnly swear . . .

Chief Justice Kelly: . . . that I will uphold the Constitution of the

United States

. . . Justice Hathaway: . . . that I will uphold the Constitution of the

United States

. . . Chief Justice Kelly: . . . and the Constitution of the state of

Michigan

. . . Justice Hathaway: . . . and the Constitution of the state of

Michigan

. . .

Chief Justice Kelly: . . . and that I will faithfully perform the duties . . .

Justice Hathaway: . . . and that I will faithfully perform the duties . . .

Chief Justice Kelly: . . . of justice of the Michigan Supreme Court . . .

Justice Hathaway: . . . of justice of the Michigan Supreme Court . . .

Chief Justice Kelly: . . . to the best of my ability . . .

Justice Hathaway: . . . to the best of my ability . . .

Chief Justice Kelly: . . . so help me God.

Justice Hathaway: . . . so help me God.

Chief Justice Kelly:  Congratulations, Diane.

[Applause.]

Mr. Gaffney:  They were willing to stand down there as long as you were willing to clap.

With the Court’s continued permission, it’s now my pleasure to introduce to you the Honorable Amy P. Hathaway, judge of the Third Circuit Court, who will present the gavel, and introduce to you Ryan and Allyson Hathaway, Nick Bobak and Dana Hathaway, Chris and Katie Sterr, Sarah Kingsley, and Mike Kingsley, who will present the robe to Justice Diane Hathaway.  Please come forward to the center podium.

Judge Amy P. Hathaway:  I’m Judge Diane—excuse me, she’s Diane.  I’m Judge Amy, and this is my niece, Dana, Diane’s daughter.  It’s an honor to be included, Diane, and we’re very flattered and excited to be here.  I just want to say a few words.

People often wonder how we’re related, and we’re not sisters, even though we look alike.  But I’ve known Diane—she’s been a part of our family for about 35 years, even though we’re not 35 yet, either of us.

But I want to tell you all what Diane’s going to bring to this Supreme Court.  Diane will bring to this honorable bench honesty, fairness, and a humanistic analysis of each case—a perspective which may seem obvious, but she will always be true to her oath.  Diane will bring to this honorable bench common sense—a reasonable person standard.  Sometimes words don’t always have to be looked up in the dictionary.  And Diane will bring to this honorable bench kindness and respect, a reflection of her professionalism, which will endure to the whole bench and her colleagues.

But I really want to add on a personal note that Diane, she’s the one who entered this race.  She stepped up, and she may have had some apprehension at the beginning, but every day she got stronger and stronger.  Today we honor you.  What you did is a tremendous legacy, for you, for our family, for our name, but for every citizen of the United States.  From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Ms. Dana Hathaway:  I’m Dana Hathaway.  I am Diane’s daughter.  [Picks up gavel.]  This is a very nice gavel—Judge Amy—but [Judge Amy Hathaway produces a very large gavel as audience laughs] this gavel represents the huge effort on behalf of all the little people, all the grassroots people from Detroit to Grand Rapids, from Traverse City to Marquette.  This gavel is for my mom on behalf of all those people, large and small, that have confidence in you, just as I do.  My mom always has been a wonderful mom, an excellent trial judge, and I know she will be a superb Supreme Court justice.  Mom, please accept this gavel on behalf of all the people, large and small, and God bless you in your decisions.

Justice Hathaway:  This wasn’t part of the program, but I just have to share this with you because I want to cover my sister Amy’s back.  When I was about to meet my stepmother about 15 years ago, my father was coming over, and this was the first time I was going to meet her.  So I was in the house, and all of a sudden I couldn’t remember her name, and I’m saying, What’s her name, what’s her name?  Oh yes, it’s Virginia, Virginia, Virginia.  So I walk outside, they pull up, and I go, “Hi, I’m Virginia.”  And my stepmother said, “Is this the daughter that’s the judge?”  [Laughter.]

Mr. Gaffney:  And now for the presenting of the robe.

[Presenters place robe on Justice Hathaway.]

Justice Hathaway:  I have to be careful; this one has holes in the arms.  It’s my old one.  [Applause.]  Thank you.

Mr. Gaffney:  Justices of many state supreme courts are very important individuals.  The Michigan Legislature, and the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor, must keep a wary eye on the third branch of government, the judiciary, as they make their own policies and their own decisions.  But when an incoming justice is of the same political party as the seated governor, I assume that watchfulness can be a bit less wary.  Please welcome our Lieutenant Governor of the great state of Michigan, the great Lieutenant Governor John Cherry.

Lieutenant Governor John D. Cherry, Jr.:  Madame Chief Justice and distinguished members of the Court, thank you for the opportunity to address this audience in spite of my wary eye.  I want to be able today to offer my personal congratulations, Justice Hathaway, and wish good afternoon to all of you here today.  I’m proud to join you, your family, and distinguished guests assembled here today to offer—all of us—our best wishes to you on your new service to the people of the state of Michigan—here a Michigan Supreme Court.

I recall it was almost two months to the date that you and I were in a television studio, anxiously awaiting the outcome of the day’s ballot.  And I recall so vividly that you had such great confidence that evening, and it turns out you were exactly on point, and obviously that candidates feel that when they have the opportunity to go out and walk the beat and have direct opportunity to see voters.  And last November, across the state, voters spoke out clearly for change.  Change at all levels of government, and they asked Diane Hathaway to be an agent for that change.

Justice Hathaway, I know that you will heed that call.  I know that your service to the bench will not be defined by political or personal agenda, but by an unwavering commitment to our citizens and our justice system.  I know you will keep an open mind to evaluate both sides of an argument.  I know that you will dispense justice equally and without delay.  I know that you possess the strength of character to do what is right, just, even when it’s unpopular.  And I know that you will be guided by compassion, ethics, honor, humility, and fairness.  And I know that you will never forget the people who sent you to the state Supreme Court bench, and that you will serve them with intellect, and purpose, and integrity, and heart.  Congratulations, Justice Hathaway, and in the spirit of this journey you’re about to commence on, Godspeed.

Mr. Gaffney:  Thank you, Lieutenant Governor Cherry.  May it please the Court.  Our next speaker will be Ryan Hathaway, Justice Hathaway’s son and oldest child.

Mr. Ryan Hathaway:  Thank you, justices.  Good afternoon, everyone.  My name is Ryan Hathaway.

It has been a little over two years now since we lost someone very special in our family.  Linda Golden was a wonderful woman.  She was a wife and a mother.  She was an aunt to me, a sister to her best friend and my mom, Justice Diane Hathaway.  She would have been so proud, so proud to be here today.  She is still very much missed, but I know that she is with us here today in spirit.

The people of the state of Michigan have elected a most—if not the most—determined and hardworking individual that I have ever met.  When my mom sets her goals on something, it is impossible to dissuade her, and she very rarely is unsuccessful.  This is a woman who worked full-time while raising two children and going to law school in the evenings.  However, amidst her busy schedule, she always found time to be there for her family, and she never let the stress get to her.  She was focused on accomplishing something, and when that happens she’s very rarely unsuccessful.  I wish I was more like her in that regard.

This same determination was clearly visible during her recent campaign.  I cannot tell you how impressed I was with all the time, the effort, and the passion that she put forth towards that campaign.  She lived it, she breathed it.  She traversed the state multiple times and literally campaigned at several different events every evening for weeks on end.  Her determination was so amazing.  When others told her she couldn’t do it, she worked that much harder.  She sacrificed her free time, the time with her kids, the time with her grandson—oh, incidentally, Mom, we need a babysitter tomorrow night, to make up for lost time.  But she’ll be the first to tell you she couldn’t have done it alone.  She had a wonderful staff and friends—they were true miracle workers.  They also put aside their lives, their personal time, to work on this campaign.  They were as passionate about it as she was, and they cannot be thanked enough.  What an accomplishment.

In closing, I’m very blessed to have the mother I have.  She’s a true role model to me, and I believe that this state is equally as blessed to have her as its next Supreme Court justice, to sit alongside the elite group you see in front of you.  Congratulations, Mom.  I love you, and I’m very proud of you.

Mr. Gaffney:  Thank you, Ryan.  With the permission of the Court, the next person I am pleased to introduce to you is Justice Hathaway’s husband, an attorney and, as we now know, the Hathaway campaign’s number one supporter.  Please welcome Mr. Michael Kingsley.

Mr. Michael Kingsley:  Thank you, Mark.  Good afternoon, everyone.  I know this is a solemn and serious occasion, but I just can’t wipe this smile off my face.  It’s been on my face since Election Day.  That’s a day that I will never forget, and I’m sure many of you will never forget.  I was working a poll in Southfield, and there was an electricity—it was a holiday at those polls.  Those people were so thankful to be able to vote, and it was just something to be a part of that special day.  And the people were wonderful.  And some of them would come back, and they would give me the thumbs up, and some would say, “I voted for your wife.”  And I thanked them.  And I worked those polls all day.

And after the polls closed, I went back to the Marriott, where there was an Obama reception, and at that point in time, Senator Obama had been declared the winner in Michigan and was overwhelmingly leading in the nation.  And Diane gave a talk, but she didn’t know if she had won.  The polls, exit polls, indicated that she was ahead.  And we were on our way up to a suite on the sixty-second floor, and it was just the two of us in the elevator, and she said to me, “What the heck is happening?”  And I said, “Honey, I don’t know.”

Well, what was happening when we reached that suite was a group of people, many of whom I see in this crowd today, and it was a party atmosphere—there was happiness, there was joy.  And the next day when I went to court, attorneys, both plaintiff and defense, court clerks, sheriff officers, all with a smile on their face, all shaking their head in disbelief at what you had accomplished.  And what is happening today, I can tell you, is your investiture as the 104th Supreme Court justice of the state of Michigan.

I am a blessed person because I get to talk today about two things that I love—the law and my wife.  I’ve been a practicing attorney for 39 years now, and I’ve been lucky enough to be married to Diane for 12 years.

My first job was in 1970 for the law firm of Weinstein, Kroll, and Gordon.  Irving Kroll was the past president of the Michigan Trial Lawyers, and Bill Weinstein was, if not the best trial attorney in the state, certainly one of the best attorneys, and he was a two-star Marine general.  He was one of the first attorneys who helped promulgate the Michigan Civil Jury Instructions.  When he came into a room, he commanded respect.  He was a man that had a presence about him.  And I recall vividly, one day we were in federal court waiting for a jury to come back with a verdict.  And he said to me, “Mike, if you learn two things from me, let them be these two things.  As a lawyer, we are the seeker of truth.  We often don’t find it, but you will never find the truth unless you are a man of truth.  Your word is your bond.”  He said, “Secondly, treat everyone with dignity and respect.  If you treat everyone with dignity and respect—litigants, witnesses, judges, court reporters, opposing counsel—you will always operate out of strength.  To do otherwise, to engage in name-calling and negativity, is a weakness.  So always operate with dignity.”  And, unfortunately, over the last few years I have seen an erosion of those principles.  What used to be bound by a handshake, now has to be memorialized in a letter.  Depositions, court proceedings deteriorating to name-calling and raised voices is unseemly, it is unnecessary, it is unprofessional.

The reason that I talk about these things is because Diane lives her life in every way with my mentor’s principles of truth, dignity, and respect.  And she lives these every day of her life.  And she treats everyone the same, whether it be someone she meets in her professional capacity, in her personal capacity, or with her family.

My daughter, Sarah, works with juveniles in the court system, and I recall a couple of years ago she told me that she was taking one of her clients to see her mother—his mother—who he hadn’t seen in about six, seven months because she was in jail.  He had no father.  And I called her the next day and I said, “Well, how did it go Sarah?”  And she said, “Well, Dad, it was very interesting.”  You know they were very happy to see each other, and then they started talking with the mom, and the mom asked her, “Well, how did you happen to get into this line of work?”  And Sarah said that she explained to her that she has a masters in forensic psychology and that she had always been interested in the law because her father was a lawyer and her stepmother was a judge.  And the woman says, “Oh, your stepmother’s a judge.  What’s her name?”  “Diane Hathaway.”  “Get out!  She’s the one who put me in here.”  But she said, “Don’t worry, she was cool.  She did what she had to; she did what was right.  But let me tell you, when she was sentencing me, and she was admonishing me, and those glasses were at the end of her nose, and she was pointing that finger at me, I was scared.”  And Sarah goes, “Oh, I know that look.”

Diane is a person with a very serious work ethic.  If it can be done today, it will be done today because tomorrow she’s going to have something else to do.  And I think she gets this work ethic from her family.  She grew up in a stereotypical American family.  She had two brothers and two sisters.  Her father was a Detroit police officer, and her mother was a homemaker.  And the boys would do the yard work with their dad, they’d tinker around with motors, they would love to hunt and fish.  And the girls would help their mom clean the house and do “womanly” things.  And I think that Diane wanted to show her dad that she was just as good as the boys.  Interestingly enough, you would find deers hanging with the wash in the backyard.  Diane told me that she never ate store-bought meat until she was 18 years old.  And kindergarten through twelfth grade?  Never missed a day of class.  Never was late to class.  She was going to show her dad that she was just as good as the boys.  And we spent a lot of time with him before he passed away, and you could tell the pride that he had for her accomplishments and how proud he was of his daughter.

Diane has never been given anything.  She has worked for whatever she has achieved.  She has achieved all of this through determination, sweat, tears, hard work, and all this culminates with this investiture today.  And she will bring to this Court needed experiences from the courtroom.  She was a prosecutor for 5 years, a trial judge for 16 years.  That experience is invaluable.  It provides invaluable insights to the everyday practice of law—what attorneys and judges have to deal with on a daily basis.  She will be very helpful to this Court with court rules, jury instructions, and procedural matters.  But I think, most importantly, that what she will bring to this Court is a dignity and a grace.  She will be a special justice.  And, justices, I assure you she will be a special colleague.  She may not agree with all of you all of the time—she may agree to disagree—but I promise you it will be done with class and respect.  Her decisions will be based on the law and what is right, not any preconceived notions; she has no agenda.  She’s a justice and was elected by the people; she will be a justice of the people.

Congratulations, honey.

Mr. Gaffney:  Thank you, Michael.  I have the opportunity in my job to see an awful lot of candidates.  Some of you in this room, I’ve worked with.  I have never seen a candidate become as good as fast as Diane Hathaway did.  Of course, if you think back to the calendar, she was forced to do that and had to do that, but she measured up in every single way.  And I was proud to be part of that campaign, and happy to be part of it, and I’ll always have memories of an extremely small airplane ride to the Upper Peninsula.  It’s my honor, and it’s every bit my happiness, to introduce to you Justice of the Supreme Court Diane Hathaway.

[Applause.]

Justice Hathaway:  Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  I thank all of you for coming to my investiture.  I especially want to thank my brother, Dr. Bruce Washington, and his wife, Dr. Rebecca Copf Washington, and my sister, Chris, and my brother-in-law, Ron, who traveled all the way from Tennessee, and my brother, Dr. Gary Washington, for coming from Indiana.  It means so much to me that you all took time from your busy schedules and responsibilities to be here with me today.

I also want to thank the program participants for all of your kind words.  Justice Weaver once told me that an investiture is like a funeral for the living.  People get up and say all these wonderful things about you, but because of God’s grace, I still get to hear them.

I especially want to thank my husband, Michael Kingsley, and my family members for your support throughout my campaign.  My core committee members deserve my sincere appreciation.  Tricia Stein, my campaign manager, is obviously a political genius.  She has also become one of my best friends.  My intelligent and devoted assistants, Michelle Busuito and Jan Brandon, who are also excellent attorneys, have agreed to be part of my staff, along with Sima Patel, a seasoned Supreme Court law clerk, and Cathy Cecchini, a very able secretary.  Patti and Jimmy Chylinski, Michele and Henry Scharg, Deb Iconelli, Joumana Kayrouz, Osama Siblami, Nikhol Atkins, Emma Bell, Rebecca Baher-Cook, Shelly Beyer, Jason Ellenberg, Wanda Evans, Austin Garrett, and Debbie Squires worked tirelessly with great determination and skill.  They all gave so generously of themselves.

It’s not possible to name all of the individuals and organizations that participated in the campaign, but I would be remiss without acknowledging the Michigan Democratic Party, Governor Jennifer Granholm and Lieutenant Governor John Cherry, and Speaker Andy Dillon.  Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin.  President-elect Barack Obama and the Campaign for Change.  Various labor unions, Michigan Association for Justice, Clean Water Action, the Justice Caucus, the Coalition for Progress, many law firms across the state, and all of you who hosted fundraisers, worked the polls, and supported my campaign.

People ask me how this race was won.  Sometimes I think it was divine intervention on behalf of my deceased parents and my beloved sister, Linda, who were always so proud of me being a judge.  But other times I realize that it was largely because of your dedication, motivation, and hard work.  This truly was a team effort.  I have been involved in many campaigns, but I have never had the occasion to participate in a mandate for change that was so evident in the 2008 election.  Perhaps what Aristotle quotes in the card my friend Michelle Busuito gave me this morning describes my election best:  “Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, there lies your vocation.”

My parents taught me many things, but the message that I want to share with you most today is the message that I hope I conveyed to my son, Ryan, who is an attorney and also owns a very successful telecommunications company, and to my daughter, Dana, who is also an attorney and works for a very reputable defense law firm, Bowman and Brooke.  I hope I conveyed that same message to my daughter, Katie, who has always been so wonderful with children, and she now teaches at the Grosse Pointe Academy, and she also runs summer camps for children.  I hope that Sarah conveyed that same message.  She has a masters in forensic psychology and works with criminal sexual deviants for the ENNIS Group.  And I’m sure I conveyed that message to my son, Mikey, who will be starting law school next week.  You were all given the privilege of a college education, and I’m so proud of what each and every one of you did with it.  The message that I am speaking of can be summed up in one word: opportunity.  We are given very few life-changing opportunities.  My suggestion to you is to be keenly aware of when this type of opportunity presents itself to you.  It is a special gift that you can either accept or reject.  My experience has taught me to accept it only when you feel peace about it; only then can you take advantage of that opportunity.

When I was asked to be the Supreme Court candidate, I have to admit that I had to take a few days to think about it because while I realized it might be to me the opportunity of a lifetime, I also knew what a serious commitment this endeavor would demand.  So I prayed on it, and I spoke with my husband and my family members, and when I was at peace with this opportunity, I accepted it, and it has now become a reality.  I pray to God that I continue to have the passion, energy, and wisdom to handle the responsibilities that accompany this incredible opportunity.

When I was asked by the [Detroit] Free Press interviewer and others what my judicial philosophy is, I told them that it is still what I practiced throughout my 16 years as a trial judge, and that is to be fair and impartial and to follow the law.  I believe that a justice should have no other judicial philosophy, because then she has an agenda and is allowing her personal beliefs to undermine her decisions.  I promise you that I will uphold the trust and confidence that you have placed in me and that I will work collegially with my fellow justices in a professional and unbiased manner.  I will make decisions based on the facts and the law, without regard to who the litigants are.  I am truly honored to be a member of this outstanding group of jurists.  Even though it was my name on the ballot, this victory really belongs to all of you.  May God bless Michigan, and may God bless Michigan’s new Supreme Court.

Mr. Gaffney:  And now, before I turn her Court back to Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly, I have to make a couple of announcements.  You are all invited to join Justice Hathaway, Michigan’s leaders, and today’s presenters at a reception immediately following this ceremony.  That reception will be in this building, on the first floor, in the rotunda, and in the conference room.  It is being sponsored by the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society, and I’d like to take a moment and thank them.  Madame Chief Justice.

Chief Justice Kelly:  Thank you, Mr. Gaffney.  And now we are adjourned.