Stephen Markman was chosen by the Court to serve as its Chief Justice on January 6, 2017. Before his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1999, he served as Judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals from 1995-1999. Prior to this, he practiced law with the firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone in Detroit.
From 1989-93, Justice Markman served as United States Attorney, or federal prosecutor, in Michigan, after having been nominated by President George H. W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate. From 1985-1989, he served as Assistant Attorney General of the United States, after having been nominated by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the United States Senate. In that position, he headed the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy, which served as the principal policy development office within the Department, and which coordinated the federal judicial selection process. Prior to this, he served for seven years as Chief Counsel of the United States Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, and as Deputy Chief Counsel of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee.
Justice Markman has authored articles for such publications as the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, the Detroit College of Law Review, the Stanford Law Review, the University of Chicago Law Review, the American Criminal Justice Law Review, the Barrister's Law Journal, the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, and the American University Law Review. He has also served as a contributing editor of National Review magazine, and has authored chapters in such books as “In the Name of Justice: The Aims of the Criminal Law,” “Still the Law of the Land,” and “Originalism: A Quarter Century of Debate.”
Justice Markman has taught constitutional law at Hillsdale College since 1993. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He has traveled to Ukraine on two occasions on behalf of the State Department, to provide assistance in the development of that nation's post-Soviet constitution. He is a Fellow of the Michigan Bar Foundation, a Master of the Bench of the Inns of Court, and a member of the One Hundred Club. He has spoken before hundreds of youth, civic, charitable, and legal groups throughout Michigan and nationally, and has coached Little League baseball and basketball. He lives with his wife Mary Kathleen in Mason, and has two sons, James and Charles.
Justice Markman was re-elected to the Supreme Court in 2000, 2004, and 2012. His present term expires January 1, 2021.
New Federalism
Inaugural Wisconsin Lawyers Chapters Conference
Monona TerraceOne John Nolen Drive
Madison, WI 53703
State Constitutionalism Debate
Arizona Student Chapter
James E. Rogers College of Law1201 E Speedway Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85721
Capital Punishment
Illinois Student Chapter
University of Illinois College of Law504 E Pennsylvania Ave
Champaign, IL 61820
Conversation with State Supreme Court Justices
2017 Annual Western Chapters Conference
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library40 Presidential Drive
Simi Valley, CA 93065
2016 National Lawyers Convention
The Jurisprudence and Legacy of Justice Scalia
The Mayflower Hotel1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
New Federalism
Inaugural Wisconsin Lawyers Chapters Conference
Justice Brennan’s 1977 article “State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights,” provoked many litigators...
New Federalism
Inaugural Wisconsin Lawyers Chapters Conference
Justice Brennan’s 1977 article “State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights,” provoked many litigators...
Conversation with State Supreme Court Justices
2017 Annual Western Chapters Conference
What is the proper role of the State judiciary when considering questions of federal law? ...
Conversation with State Supreme Court Justices
2017 Annual Western Chapters Conference
What is the proper role of the State judiciary when considering questions of federal law? ...
Justice Scalia and the Criminal Law - Audio/Video
2016 National Lawyers Convention
Justice Scalia's originalism had an important impact on our nation's criminal law. While sometimes overlooked,...