Ex-convict quits high court job after judge criticizes

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LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A former convict who was hired by a new Michigan Supreme Court justice resigned Thursday after heavy criticism from another member of the court.

“I have accepted Pete Martel’s resignation,” said Judge Kyra Harris Bolden, who took office this week. “He did not mean to be a distraction or in any way distract the court from its important work. I respect his decision and do not intend to comment further.”

Bolden had hired Martel to serve as a legal clerk, a job that includes researching cases and providing commentary on opinions.

Martel served 14 years in prison after he robbed a Flint-area store and shot officers, The Detroit News reported.

He was released in 2008, turned his life around, and graduated from Wayne State University Law School.

Justice Richard Bernstein welcomed Martel’s reversal, but said the Supreme Court should not be his next step.

“I’m all about second chances,” Bernstein told The News. “But there are certain jobs you should never be allowed to do after shooting a police officer, and one of them is a clerk for the highest court in the state.”

He added: “I’m completely disgusted by this.”

Bolden finished third in the Nov. 8 election for two Supreme Court seats, but was later chosen by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to fill a vacancy. She is Michigan’s first black female judge.

Bolden and Bernstein were Democratic Party candidates and appeared in campaign ads together in the fall. Bernstein was easily re-elected.

“I don’t talk to him anymore. We don’t share the same values,” Bernstein said before Martel’s resignation.

Former Chief Justice Bridget McCormack, who left the court this week, said Martel was one of her best students when she taught at the University of Michigan.

“He’s been open about his past and his regrets about it, and how eager he is to be an example to others, to show them that you don’t have to be defined by your past,” said McCormack.

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