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| whispering to the Universe, Louise Cohn, on a friends behalf. |
I am not familiar with the career of Judge Lillard, and know precious little about Detroit, Michigan other than its musical significance. It was her Facebook page urging local support for the retention of her position that caught my eye. The most insignificant observation was she could easily win on looks alone. But, I always center my questioning of judges around integrity and their ability to be truthful to self and their capacity, if it exists, to stories individually. These are the biggest fears resting in the perception of judges in my estimation and that is from the perspective of an individual without a criminal record.
As a civilian and friend of a family I was in a Maryland courtroom because one of the family members, a man was facing ten years in prison for stopping the potential murder of his 14 year old nephew who had wronged the wrong bad guy. The man, let's call him Sam, broke the angry group of boys and older boys apart, and in the words and the tussle Sam took a 9mm hand gun from the offended drug dealer saving his nephew and other boy's lives. The county police arrived. In the next minutes an officer spotted the gun in Sam's pocket and arrests were made. The nephew and the other boys turned the blame and ownership of the weapon upon Sam despite eye-witness accounts and the credibility of Sam. Sam wound up in circuit court under a Black judge whose name I will never forget, but whose words sting as much now as then when he said, "As long as there is a gun and a Black man involved someone is going to jail!"
Sam is a Marine (retired), married and the father of children with no record living with and supporting his family. His credibility was as sound as his testimony, but the judge's assertion sealed his fate and ten years were given Sam. I guess as a vague jab at leniency and a show of pretend mercy he suspended all but six months, and had Sam cuffed and removed from his court. Sam's final stare into the families present and the people who knew and loved him shimmered in the room for no other reason because the vibration of a good name, right intention, good judgment and right action are nothing against a stoic silence embracing the creed of harshness judges and prosecutors pride themselves in.
The incident did not take place in the 'hood'. It was in a relatively affluent area of Prince Georges County, Maryland. If you know anything about PG county it is predominately Black, populated with high earners educated and socially skillful. A challenge among Black youth in these neighborhoods is their perception of their culture and what 'Black' is, means and its connection to excellence that founded scores of communities in the county. In fact, so prominent and rich is the county which borders Washington DC district residents refer to PG county as an extension of Washington DC. There are 8 wards in the District. The eighth ward is the poorest and was until his death the political jurisdiction of Marion Barry, the former mayor-for-life. PG county is commonly called the 9th Ward.
Good or bad this backdrop is the setting of the judicial thinking common to the area and the country. It is one of many cases in the back of my mind when weighing why I should vote for a judge come election day. What are judges preening for; being elected? Of course, but are they being selected by their peers, or do the counties they serve really vote for judges based on personality, or an honest assessment of their temperament, records, fairness or stern stances? Do voters gauge a judge by his face, or out of a Biblical sense of his ability to judge like the Judges of the ancient Hebrews? We know anyone who voted for a judge was not sentenced by said judge, and more often poor families do not vote for or against judges because they often are not voting. They are too busy surviving.
So, is a vote for a judge a vote for character, kindness, a congenial approach to the bench or good looks. In respect to looks are men voting based on looks the way some women vote on the strength of a man's masculinity? I don't have any answers. I just bristle at the way white men's system of justice has affected my people Red and Black. It often wasn't fair or beneficial for all concerned. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 1.6.15
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| Judge Qiana Denise Lillard, Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court, Detroit, Michigan in 2014 |
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| Judge Qiana Denise Lillard of Detroit, Michigan 2014 |
http://www.judgelillard.com/
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