On September 11, MCHR co sponsored an event with Alexandria Hughes entitled the Judicial Forum. This was an insightful panel with 7 judges and candidates discussing how they got into the field and how t
hey can continue to engage with their communities in order to create changes in the judicial system. It was also an empowering event to see so many women in the judicial system making important decisions and prioritizing human rights issues such as juvenile incarceration and advocating for indigent persons.
First each panelist was asked who they are and what position they were running for. Here are the panelists:
Macie Gaines: Running for Wayne County Probate Court Judge. Macie Gaines is a former Detroit Mercy School of Law Probate Professor, longtime member of the Wayne County Probate Bar, Chair of the Detroit Metro Bar Association Probate Litigation Committee and Member of the State Bar of Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Section.
Kimberly Ann Thomas: Running for Michigan Supreme Court. Professor Thomas is an experienced attorney and University of Michigan Law Professor with experience representing low-income Michiganders, working on developing law school curriculum and experiential education in Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey, and was appointed to the bipartisan Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform.
Adrienne G. Scruggs: Running for Circuit Court Judge. A Judicial Officer serving as a family law referee, a Judicial Attorney in 3rd Circuit Court, and as a Senior Staff Attorney for Wayne County Friend of the Court, she has nearly 20 years of legal experience in family, civil, and criminal law.
Robin Dillard-Russaw: Running for 46th District Court Judge. Robin Dillard-Russaw has been protecting local communities and their rights in courtrooms for over 16 years. She has served as an Assistant Attorney General and as a Magistrate for the 46th District Court. She currently leads Wayne County’s Indigent Defense Services Department, where she’s instituted reforms for equitable legal representation, aligning with her commitment to social justice.
Malaika Ramsey-Heath: Running for Detroit’s 36th District Court. She has proudly served as a magistrate for almost five years and has over two decades of commitment to Detroit on and off the bench. She has also worked as a legal analyst for the late Maryann Mahaffey, done extensive non-profit work with neighborhoods during the foreclosure crisis, and has represented numerous indigent defendants.
Ron L. Haywood: Running for Wayne County Probate Court Judge. Haywood worked at the Administrative Appeals and Hearing Division, was a former assistant Wayne County Prosecutor, a former captain in the United States Army Reserve, a former parole officer and probation officer, and has worked five years with Moot Courts to help train the next generation of lawyers and leaders. He would like to continue to work and expand Moot Courts especially with people of color.
Then, they were asked about community engagement and how judges can be engaged with the community and how that helps to create change in the judicial system at all levels. Several of the panelists mentioned how they’ve served on the school board, on outreach teams, and other groups in the community. They make sure to meet with community members to discuss issues. Ron Haywood mentioned that he would like to continue to make a difference in the community by developing the High School Moot Court program because those are our future lawyers and leaders. He would like to especially encourage people of color to participate in the Moot Courts and learn more about the legal system. The candidates, like Adrienne Scruggs, go to a lot of events and hear from people in the community that want them to keep coming back and participating once they are elected. Finally, Robin Dillard-Russaw mentioned how the District courts are ripe for community engagement because students are able to come sit at the courts and learn. Also District Court judges live in the community and interact with community members in their day to day lives.
At the end, a few questions were asked. One was how can the judicial candidates and judges get incarcerated families to vote and why it’s important for them to vote. Malaika Ramsey-Heath mentioned how it’s very important to have someone sitting on the bench that understands what happens as a case moves through and who has that experience as a case moves through both at the court level but also as an advocate. You want someone who sees what can go wrong and are these things going wrong in order to stop and prevent it.
