LANSING, Mich. — The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Michigan's legislative term limits Wednesday, denying a challenge brought by a bipartisan group of former state lawmakers.
A three-judge panel said the decision on whether to institute term limits was made by Michigan voters in 1992, and the matter goes to "the heart of state sovereignty." It wasn't the court's place to intervene, wrote Judge Amul Thapar, an appointee of former President Donald Trump.
"If they want to change the law, they'll have to do that at the ballot box," Thapar wrote at the conclusion of an eight-page opinion.
Michigan voters approved an amendment to the state's Constitution in 1992 to impose term limits on members of the state House and Senate. House members can serve up to three two-year terms, and senators can serve up to two four-year terms.
A group of former state lawmakers announced a lawsuit to challenge the term limits in November 2019. Their arguments have focused on candidates' constitutional rights and their ability to run for office.
The contention, they have said, is different from what was used in a failed 1998 case that sought to overturn term limits on the premise that voters had a right to vote for candidates of their choice.
But Thapar said term limits "operate independently from ballot-access restrictions." They are "the state's attempt to set qualifications for its officeholders," the judge wrote.
"This qualification gives us no reason to apply heightened scrutiny, because candidates do not have a fundamental right to run for office," Thapar wrote.
Michigan also has "several legitimate government interests in enacting term limits," the judge added, listing reducing political careerism and checking special interests.
The former lawmakers involved in the lawsuit were former Sens. Roger Kahn and Mike Kowall and ex-Reps. Scott Dianda, Clark Harder, Joseph Haveman, Mark Meadows, David Nathan, Paul Opsommer, Douglas Spade and Mary Valentine.
