Election refuser runs for Michigan Supreme Court – a delusion
Now Matthew DePerno is standing before us again.
A judge could therefore include this person in the closing argument of a trial.
Since DePerno considers himself qualified and capable to be one of the seven justices on the Michigan Supreme Court, we can adopt a legal tone in our discussion of him, at least for a sentence or two.
*clears throat*
Now we are once again faced with Matthew DePerno, who suffered a crushing defeat at the ballot box as the Republican candidate for Attorney General in 2022 and then failed to pump up the tires of his campaign clown car and get elected Republican chairman at the subsequent convention.
And now comes DePerno, who was indicted in August 2023 and awaits trial on four counts of illegally accessing voting machines after the 2020 presidential election and his – is delusional behavior an appropriate description here? — campaign to somehow prove that Donald Trump was wrongfully cheated and thus lost his re-election as president. Also charged were former state representative Daire Rendon and attorney Elizabeth Lambert. The charges allegedly relate to illegally obtaining and accessing ballot counts held by local governments in Barry, Missaukee and Roscommon counties.
So then, Now DePerno comes out and announces that he is seeking the Republican nomination for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court. If he wins that nomination at the party’s convention on August 24 (where will the convention be held? Who knows? The party isn’t commenting at the moment), he will run for the seat on the Michigan Supreme Court while he awaits his criminal trial.
And if he wins – now is the time to take a deep breath – he would be a sitting Supreme Court justice while on and then undergo a criminal trial.
That makes DePerno one of the most famous lawyers in the world right now. Reports have surfaced in at least half of all U.S. states and one other country about the indicted lawyer who challenged the election of President Joe Biden and is now running for the Michigan Supreme Court. Ahh, fame. Or maybe, ahhh, infamy.
Down the DePerno rabbit hole
Why does DePerno say he should be on the Supreme Court? In his own words: “After seeing the abuse of our legal system here in Michigan and across the country, it is clear that the Michigan Supreme Court needs members who are committed to upholding the Constitution and the rule of law.”
The “abuse” here in Michigan, it is believed, is its own indictment. The “abuse” nationwide, it seems, is the fact that former President Donald Trump was found guilty in a hush money trial by a jury of his fellow citizens, and the other trials he faces.
There are many elements to this situation aside from whether DePerno is really fit for office. The crazy way we select Supreme Court justices, for example. The way someone runs for the Supreme Court is another. The monumentally stupid phrase “activist judge” — if you get a judge’s paycheck, you must be an “activist” because you’re both running for and interpret Law – is another.
Add to that the fact that DePerno, like a certain former president, is doing everything he can to delay and derail the prosecution (which, yes, is his right, no one disputes that), even though it also delays the course of justice.
There is also the sad memory of former governor and former Supreme Court Justice John Swainson. In this reporter’s eyes, Swainson was treated very unfairly. Compared to Swainson, the jury – should an actual jury be impaneled – is figuratively ignorant of DePerno.
More from John Lindstrom: I was a student during the Vietnam War. Today’s protests are not much different.
But does he believe in Santa Claus?
DePerno is one of the new darlings of the swampy Republican base.
He has been an attorney for decades, practicing tax and government law in Portage, near Kalamazo. His name appears in numerous appeals court records, and several lawsuits have been filed against him, although no ruling has been made. (Well, there were sanctions against him for his involvement in a case involving former state Rep. Todd Courser and Detroit News reporter — and my buddy — Chad Livengood. But that’s not quite the same thing.)
A lawsuit was filed by William Buhl, a retired Van Buren County judge. In an interview with radio station WMUK, he said he watched DePerno in action in court for several days and “saw what I believe to be egregious billing behavior.” He also believed DePerno “misadvised” his clients on legal issues and then tried to collect money from them by foreclosing on a property that his clients had mortgaged on DePerno’s advice. Buhl found DePerno’s behavior “outrageous.”
DePerno’s fame rests solely on his efforts to prove that Trump is the victim of massive voter fraud. He couldn’t prove it because there is no evidence. No evidence in Michigan or anywhere else. No shred of verifiable evidence of massive voter fraud in 2020 has been presented anywhere, and yet DePerno and millions of supposedly sane adults continue to believe and promote this fantasy. My goodness, Santa Claus can’t believe that kind of unwavering belief.
DePerno has used this failed fantasy to fuel his equally failed campaigns for attorney general and chairman of the Republican Party. After his indictment for, er, attempted voting machine tampering, a statement appeared on his law firm’s website: “This is unbelievable! Matthew DePerno is fighting for you. On August 1, 2023, (DePerno) was impeached by (Attorney General) Dana Nessel and (Governor) Gretchen Whitmer for defending the Constitution and supporting your right to a fair and free election. You can help Matt defend his honor and restore our American society by contributing to his legal defense. Since November 2020, we have all been victims of the left-wing deep state. Let’s work together to make America great again.”
More from John Lindstrom: To run as a presidential candidate in 2028, Gretchen Whitmer must defeat Michigan in 2024
That’s not how it works
First, DePerno was not charged by either Nessel or Whitmer (the governor can’t bring charges anyway). DePerno was indicted by an Oakland County grand jury after an investigation by a special prosecutor, Muskegon County District Attorney DJ Hilson. DePerno will undergo a preliminary examination in Oakland District Court at a date to be determined – a conference call is scheduled for sometime in July – before the trial begins before Oakland District Court Chief Judge Jeffrey Matis.
Like Trump, DePerno used his situation as a fundraising opportunity. We have no idea how much money he raised,R whether any of it could be used for his campaign, no matter how far he gets in his quest for the Supreme Court.
Because of all his statements, we know what DePerno’s goal will be as a Supreme Court justice and how he would rule on certain cases. This fact makes DePerno ethically and morally completely unfit to serve as a justice on any court, let alone Michigan’s highest court.
Campaigning for a judge is difficult because you cannot, should not, and are not allowed to say how you would decide a case. A judge cannot rush to judgment. In campaigning, this means that a candidate for a judge must insist on background, reputation, name recognition, and a sense of fairness. Frankly, name recognition is the best way to get elected to any office as a judge.
DePerno was named for clearly violating standards for judicial election campaigns.
Under Michigan state campaign rules, that may not prevent him from running for the Supreme Court, but it may convince Republicans not to nominate him — and, if he is nominated, convince voters not to support him.
The John Swainson ending you’ve been waiting for
This is John Swainson.
Swainson was born in Canada and grew up in Port Huron. At 18, he volunteered for the U.S. Army during World War II. At 19, he lost both legs while clearing mines from battlefields. He was elected to the state Senate, then served as lieutenant governor, and was one of Michigan’s youngest governors when elected in 1960. He lost re-election to George Romney in 1962. (Before the current 1963 constitution, governors served two-year terms.) In 1970, he was elected to the Supreme Court, where he served with distinction.
…Until 1975, when he was accused of bribery. Swainson had to undergo a criminal trial in which he was acquitted of bribery but convicted of perjury. This makes no sense (and since he was on five juries, I suspect the jurors were trying to reconcile the differences). It destroyed Swainson’s life and led him to alcoholism. His friends were terribly afraid he might commit suicide. He struggled to get back on his feet, and in the 1980s, to the delight of many, he was appointed head of the Michigan Historical Commission. He died at age 68, his reputation somewhat restored, but to many he was still a man who had been terribly wronged..
Matt DePerno, John Swainson, you are not.
Free Press guest columnist John Lindstrom has covered Michigan politics for 50 years. He retired in 2019 as editor of Gongwer, a Lansing-based news service. Send a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters and we may publish it online or in print.
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