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.

Guardianship Ombudsman Appointed By Supreme Court to Strengthen System

LANSING, 9/15/00 -- Adults victimized by unscrupulous guardians and communities looking to strengthen their guardianship programs have a new source of assistance: the Michigan Guardian Ombudsman, Chief Justice Elizabeth A. Weaver announced today.

Court of Appeals Judge Donald S. Owens has been appointed to the new post created by the Michigan Supreme Court. Judge Owens will identify problems in the guardianship system, advise local probate courts on service improvements and volunteer services, and investigate complaints of neglect or abuse.

In her State of the Judiciary message before a joint session of the Legislature today, Chief Justice Weaver called Judge Owens "the right man for the job" and urged legislators to fund the new office.

"Guardians and conservators should be wise, compassionate, and caring. They should possess excellent money management skills. They must be honest.
Fortunately, most fit this description and work hard for little or no compensation," the Chief Justice said.

"Some, however, abuse the trust we place in them. They neglect their wards. They mismanage, and sometimes even steal, their wards' money or property. "Our probate courts do an admirable job with the limited resources they have. But we can, and we must, do better."

An effective guardianship system should provide quality services to all who need them, refrain from imposing unnecessary guardianships, and swiftly correct abuses, Chief Justice Weaver said. The need for an ombudsman is particularly acute given the increasing population of senior citizens.

Judge Owens will serve as Guardianship Ombudsman for 12 months. Before his appointment by Gov. John Engler to the Court of Appeals in 1999, he was for 25 years an Ingham County probate judge. Yale Law School Professor John Langbein called him "the ablest probate judge in the United States . . . a superstar."

Because Judge Owens tenure as Ombudsman is limited to one year by his return to all of his Court of Appeals duties, legislative support for the office will be necessary, Chief Justice Weaver told legislators. "To give Michigan citizens the benefit of a permanent Ombudsman with the power to ferret out abuse, it will be necessary to fund the position and a small staff of investigators. You established a precedent for such action by creating the Office of Children's Ombudsman in 1993. Adults with guardians and conservators deserve the same attention."

The Supreme Court will take additional steps to improve the protection of adults who have guardians and conservators assigned to them, the Chief Justice said. These will include: training all probate judges on the needs of the elderly; developing more information to help people better understand the guardianship system, alternatives to it, and available community resources; revising court rules to improve the guardianship process; and providing user-friendly forms.

The Court has been cooperating with a bi-partisan group led by Sen. Bev Hammerstrom and aided by Sen. George Hart in developing necessary legislation.

"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