It’s a happy coincidence that this year’s pair of Democratic-endorsed candidates for the Michigan Supreme Court have last names starting with S and T — for Stronger Together, one of the key campaign slogans for Hillary Clinton this year. Judges Frank Szymanski and Deborah Thomas, currently on the bench in Wayne County, need YOUR HELP on publicizing their campaigns for Michigan Supreme Court on the non-partisan section of the ballot.
In Michigan, the Supreme (and Appellate) Courts have long been dominated by Republican-sympathetic judges. Sadly, we were only one seat down a few years ago, until Justice Diane Hathaway resigned her seat in early 2013 while facing charges of bank fraud related to a real estate transaction. (She pled guilty and served almost a year in federal prison; there was no question that she had committed a crime.) Snyder appointed David Viviano from Macomb County, who is now running for his first full eight-year term this November. The other Snyder appointee up for election this year is Joan Larsen, a radically conservative jurist from Washtenaw County who proudly clerked for SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia.
We have two solid Democratic judges on the state Supreme Court now, but we’ve basically been playing defense since 1998, almost a generation ago, and plenty of time for the Michigan Courts to have undermined the protections of the law for ordinary Michigan citizens in many far-reaching ways. Any challenges that we could have brought against the “Right to Work [for Less]” legislation rammed through the lame-duck session of 2012; any appeals of the redistricting that Republicans dominated in 2001 and 2011; any defense against corporate interests wreaking havoc against environmental or consumer safeguards; any recourse for prisoners seeking re-evaluation of their convictions or sentences; any effort to expand the rights of children to public funding of education — all non-existent at the peak of the Michigan court system. (Think Wisconsin, only worse because in place for longer.)
Judge Szymanski has been a Juvenile Court judge for 10 years in Wayne County, handling some of the most difficult cases imaginable. He is a passionate and creative advocate, on and off the bench, for children, youth, their families, and the communities to which they belong.
From his campaign website:
- ELECTED Juvenile Court Judge in Detroit, supervising the rehabilitation of neglectful and abusive parents and some of the most dangerous and troubled youth in America.
- Author of IDENTITY DESIGN the research driven guide to powerful and generous living.
- Responsible for Wayne County Juvenile Court referral program to the Youth Deterrent Program in which life offenders counsel at risk youth on the consequences of crime.
- Responsible for the institution of a program to teach Transcendental Meditation to juvenile offenders as a coordinated effort of the Wayne County Department of Child and Family Services, The David Lynch Foundation and Michigan residential treatment facilities for juvenile offenders.
- Founder of the 3rd Circuit Court KKIS: Keep Kids In School initiative to minimize school suspensions and truancy and improve graduation rates.
- Judicial Representative for the Wayne County School Justice Partnership.
- Joint founder of the Michigan chapter of Guitars Not Guns, a national organization dedicated to offering free musical instruction and guitars to at risk youth as an alternative to violence and substance abuse.
- Founder of the KAREN initiative (Kids Are Reading Every Night), dedicated to the principle that “a day is not complete without 20 minutes and a book!”
Judge Deborah Thomas brings over twenty years of experience on the bench in Wayne County’s Third Circuit, Criminal Division. Through her work, she has become a dedicated supporter of court reforms and speaks tirelessly on the topics of Criminal Expungement and Restorative Justice. If elected, she would not only be the first African-American woman on the Michigan Supreme Court, but also the only jurist with deep roots in a city. These factors are not insignificant, when it comes to understanding the real-life impact of the legal system from the top down. As Secretary Clinton said in the second presidential debate this month:
I want to appoint Supreme Court justices who understand the way the world really works, who have real-life experience, who have not just been in a big law firm and maybe clerked for a judge and then gotten on the bench, but, you know, maybe they tried some more cases, they actually understand what people are up against.
The same qualifications are legitimate for judges at every level, and we all can benefit from greater diversity on the bench.
Judge Thomas
- Believes in educational opportunities for all children
- Fights to stop human trafficking
- Stands for juvenile justice and rehabilitation
- [Serves as the] Chairwoman of the Veterans Treatment Court Committee
- [Serves as the] Establishing & Supervising Judge, Wayne County Veterans Treatment Docket
- [Acts as] Supervising Judge, Wayne County Restorative Justice Program
- Believes that specialty courts should include mental health and substance abuse treatments
If you care to support the campaigns of either one, please visit their websites for ways to get involved (see links above). The most important way to help now is to spread the word about their candidacy! Some options:
- Share this post! ;)
- Share all relevant campaign resources that promote them to ordinary voters.
- Volunteer at the Coordinated Campaign offices throughout Michigan, where there is candidate literature available. Canvassers and phone bankers are STILL NEEDED for GOTV efforts.
- Contact your local Democratic party to ask about their poll greeter program. We have an active one in Washtenaw County: email poc AT washtenawdems DOT org (you know what to do).
If you have other ideas, add them to the comments please!
From this point forward, I eagerly welcome other posts relevant to Michigan candidates who might not be getting the attention they need to win. Please feel free to post those stories — and drop me a Kosmail when you have done so, because otherwise I might not see them even if you queue them to the appropriate groups. We need to promote our solid Democratic Michigan candidates as best as we can.
Please help us build this weekly Michigan thread so that it includes any information relevant to turning MI Blue again that you would like me to highlight. MI contributors are always welcome! You can reach me through kosmail at peregrine kate. Or say hi through email here: peregrinekate@gmail.com And please follow me on Twitter @peregrinekate
Please feel free to drop in on ANY State Open Thread! So far, we have these regulars:
Colorado: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Mountain
Michigan: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Eastern Thursdays, 7:00 PM Eastern
North Carolina: Sundays, 1:00 PM Eastern