About Justice Weaver

Throughout Justice Elizabeth "Betty" Weaver's over 32 years of experience as a trial and appellate judge (Probate/Juvenile, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court), including 2 years as Chief Justice, she has maintained a proven record based on these major practices:
Exercising Judicial Restraint
Applying Common Sense

A fundamental tenet of her stand for jusitice is to hold wrong-doers accountable and responsible for their actions, while providing opportunities for them to discover and develop their own self-worth and to become law-abiding, productive citizens.

In exercising judicial restraint (interpreting, not making, the law -- judicial self-discipline), Justice Weaver has followed the law as constitutionally passed by the legislature and consistent with the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court. She has used the responsibility of interpretation, not as a sword to superimpose her own personal views (or those of special interest groups) on the law, but as a shield to protect the constitutional rights of the people and the constitutional acts of the legislative and executive branches.

Click here to read Michigan Court of Appeals Judge, Donald S. Owens’s Remarks as Presenter at the Induction of Justice Weaver into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame on October 25, 2005.

Click here to read Justice Weaver’s Remarks upon her Induction into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

Press Release - 6/10/2005

Press Release - 1/13/2005

In November 2002, Justice Weaver won re-election for a second 8-year term on the Michigan Supreme Court.
This site provides information about her experience, credentials, principles, and major initiatives for the State of Michigan.

Check this site often for up-to-date press releases and other information about important work going on in the Supreme Court of Michigan.

To:   The Grand Rapids Press and the Associated Press
From:   Justice Elizabeth A. Weaver
Re:   Promised comment on the Zolman tax case
Date: Oct 3, 2002 at _______

Pursuant to the Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct, by which I am required to abide as a Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, while sentencing has been pending I have been unable to comment on Mr. Greg Zolman’s tax case. Canon 3, §A(6) of the Code explicitly forbids a judge from making public comment about a pending or impending proceeding in any court.

Now that Mr. Zolman has been sentenced late this afternoon and the case completed, I may comment. Here are the facts and my remarks concerning what I know of the case. A copy of this statement is also available on my website, www.JusticeWeaver.com.

1. In 1995, I hired Mr. Zolman to extensively remodel my Glen Arbor home. He had previously done repair and improvement work for me between 1985-1990. The Zolman family has lived in my home town of Glen Arbor, a small friendly community, off and on for generations. I knew Mr. Zolman’s mother as a teller at the local bank. Mr Zolman used to live within a mile of my home. He was an assistant basketball coach for the local school. He had a reputation as a talented builder, and many trusted his skills as a contractor.

2. During the remodeling project, the amounts charged me by Mr. Zolman varied from one thousand to nine thousand dollars. I never noticed, nor did I have reason to notice, that the checks I paid to him (I always paid by check) were all under $10,000. It made absolute sense to me to pay my contractor incrementally as his work progressed satisfactorily, rather than in large lump sums. Work was essentially completed on the project in 1998, although there were some minor details that needed to be done and there are still some areas that need painting and a few other minor details that were never completed.

3. For the record, contrary to the anonymous suggestion in the press, irrelevant as it was, I did not pay for my neighbor’s remodeling.

4. It was not until the Spring of 2000, when a person claiming to be an Internal Revenue Service investigator appeared unannounced at my home, that I learned that Mr. Zolman was apparently under investigation. I did not talk to the person at that time because I do not talk to strangers who arrive unannounced at my door.

(continued)

"What we in the judiciary most need is patience, meekness, compassion, and courage to 'Do Right and Fear Not.'"
Chief Justice Weaver
State of the Judiciary

"She is bringing a fresh, dedicated, incisive mind to the Michigan Supreme Court."
Judge Myron Wahls
Court of Appeals

"I know Betty Weaver. She threw me in jail....But I would vote for her, because she...straightened me out, and the sentence was just."
Former convicted juvenile offender

"Your judicial experience...was outstanding. Your leadership abilities...have been impressive. There is sound reasoning for my full confidence in you as a justice."
Mary S. Coleman
Chief Justice 1978-82

Judge Weaver has been recognized in many ways for her public service, including selection as one of five outstanding young women in Michigan by the Michigan Jaycees. It is a pleasure for myself to recognize Judge Weaver as a capable and devoted public servant.
G. Mennen Williams
Chief Justice 1982-86