Michigan Supreme Court Justice David F. Viviano and Court candidate Andrew Fink address the Eastside Republican Club Forum at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 19, at The War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Rd., Grosse Pointe Farms.
“We look forward to hearing about Justice Viviano’s work on the Michigan Supreme Court and from Andrew Fink who is campaigning for election to a seat on Michigan’s ‘court of last resort,’” said ERC chairman Mike Vethacke in advance of the Forum.
Michigan’s seven justices are elected for 8-year, staggered terms so that at least one seat is on the ballot every two years. Candidates for the court are nominated by political parties and elected on a nonpartisan ballot.
In Nov. 2024, two seats will be up for election. Democratic appointee Kyra Harris Bolden will seek a full term after being appointed last year by Gov. Whitmer. The other seat is held by David Viviano whose term expires at year end 2024.
Forum doors open at 7 p.m. for coffee and networking in advance of the meeting. There is no charge for the Forum, which will include an opportunity to ask questions.
Justice Viviano
Viviano was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2013 by former Gov. Rick Snyder and was re-elected by wide margins in 2014 and 2016. He is the Supreme Court’s point person for court technology and supervises Michigan’s statewide e-filing initiative.
He previously served as Chief Judge of the Macomb County Circuit and Probate Courts. As chief judge, he was responsible for the administration of one of the busiest trial courts in Michigan. He was first elected to the circuit court in 2006, and during his tenure as a trial judge presided over both civil and criminal cases. He also had the privilege of serving on the circuit court bench with his father, retired Judge Antonio Viviano, and his sister, Judge Kathryn Viviano.
The Justice is a strong advocate for technological innovation in the court system. He has long been a proponent of a statewide e-filing system and has worked to improve how our local courts manage electronic data and share it with the public and other units of government.
He has participated in numerous initiatives to improve the administration of justice. In 2008, he worked with a group of judges to test Michigan’s jury system reforms with many of the reforms adopted for use throughout Michigan. For their efforts, Justice Viviano and his colleagues received a national award for jury innovation.
Justice Viviano also teaches jury management at the Michigan Judicial Institute’s New Judges’ School.
In addition to delivering flowers for the family business, Viviano later practiced law at two nationally recognized law firms, founded his own law firm in Mt. Clemens and served as City Attorney for the City of Center Line.
He is a graduate of Hillsdale College with highest honors and a 1996 graduate of U-M Law School.
Justice Viviano, his wife Neran and their four children live in Sterling Heights.
Andrew Fink
“I am running for the Michigan Supreme Court because our justice system needs to be focused on the law, not the personal views of the judge," State Rep. Andrew Fink (R-Adams Township) said in a Sept. 2023 statement.
“Upholding our Constitutional rights is a judge’s sacred duty because every one of us deserves due process, equal protection of the laws, and the guarantee of a fair day in court. I am ready to take the oath of office and do justice under law,” the Republican attorney said.
Fink earned a Bachelor of Arts from Hillsdale College in 2006 and a Juris Doctor from the U-M in 2010. From 2009 to 2016 Fink served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.
He said in his campaign announcement, “We can reverse the declining faith in our governing institutions caused by activist judges and special interests abusing our court system. Our state needs justices who will not waver from their duty of upholding the Constitution, maintaining the separation of powers in government, and defending our constitutional freedom.”
Fink won the 2020 Republican primary in his 35th district and has been elected twice with more than 70% of general election votes.
The Eastside Republican Club Forum meets on the third Tuesday each month from September through May at The War Memorial. Admission is free and the public is always welcome. Stay up to date at EastsideRepublican.Club and "follow" the ERC on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).