As the new chief judge of the Third Circuit Court, I am often asked why I accepted this position at this time. It’s a daunting task: we seek to bring a workforce decimated by COVID and in dire need of resources and funding back to on-site work for optimal court service to our community and best access to justice. But I am exhilarated by the prospect of working with partners to restructure and revamp the court using new technology and the personal service and work ethic that the Wayne County Circuit Court team prides itself on.
As the largest and busiest court in the state, we were hit hardest by COVID’s forced shutdown of jury trials. With a decimated workforce, we face the task of addressing the backlogs and restructuring while also opening the doors to our courtrooms. We also strive to integrate remote hearings from our courtrooms where appropriate, offering expediency and efficiency along with physical presence to ensure court users have phone calls answered and the access to courts the public deserves.
I came to Detroit at age three as an immigrant from Quito, Ecuador. My parents, a neurologist and a nurse, brought their four young daughters here to provide a life of opportunity and to give back what we could. My dad served to his own highest ability, spending years in research and then as a professor at Wayne State University, leaving for private practice in time to afford college for his then five children. The emphasis on striving to pull others up was clear and unrelenting.
Since my childhood I was fascinated by lawyers, litigation, and courts, as well as social justice through laws that serve to structure a path to equal justice. Admiration for the boldness, intellect, charisma and integrity it takes to advocate as an attorney led me to become a prosecutor advocating mostly for abused women and children, a fulfilling but emotionally draining career. I ran for judge with a goal to strive for better opportunity to be heard for all people in court and for equal justice for all.
My desire to render just results in a forum affording personal opportunity to be heard and attain justice for a cause is the reason I never aspired to appellate courts. While I could happily serve in a trial judge capacity alone, the difficult but challenging prospect of being a part of making real impact through positive changes called me to step up to the challenge and serve to my highest capacity.
My Personal and Family History
My personal history, as a Latina immigrant, wife, mother, artist, litigator and judge, is such to engender humility, empathy, and a strong work ethic. I am as dedicated to disprove negative stereotypes as I am cognizant of the fact of equality of people under the eyes of God and of the law. My parents spoke integrity and demonstrated courage in leaving all that they knew and loved to give four little girls a better life.
My husband Donn has dedicated his career to public service as Chief Assistant Prosecutor in Wayne and Macomb Counties. As a past President of this Detroit Bar Association, Donn’s work was unprecedented in increasing membership, funds, and innovative initiatives.
Donn Fresard has been, as his mother Bernice describes, kind and generous to all—but most of all, to me. His support, encouragement, and enormous charisma and salesmanship brought victory in a judicial election that my colleague Judge James Chylinski described at the time as the toughest judicial race and biggest names he had seen, one that he predicted I had no chance to win. Jimmy joined forces with me after the primary; Donn personally obtained over 5,000 petition signatures and most of the fundraising to will my campaign not only to a win but to take first place in a field of a dozen.
Our slogan was “Fresard First for Families,” as mine has always been paramount in my life, and we are dedicated to supporting families throughout our community. Our children have brought enormous joy to our lives and as adults they continue to enrich us with their spirit and presence as we are blessed to have them all living in very close proximity.
Donn, our oldest, having served as Editor of the Michigan Daily in college, ran the campaign of my pack of 20 judges contested in 2010. An excellent writer, entrepreneur, and cook, he brings a wealth of knowledge and the best bread in the world to our regular family Sunday dinner. Joey, our second son, an attorney with Simasko Law in Mt. Clemens, is as amazing as a lawyer as he is as a husband to beloved Corrine and father to baby Theodora. He is also a leader and giver serving on the St. Clair Shores school board and Cool City Chair, as well as with Catholic Lawyers.
Our daughter Amanda has brought great joy to our family from her first breath, and continues to do so as wife to Mickey McCullough, our beloved son-in-law and new partner with Sommers Schwartz. Amanda is an amazing loving mom to their baby Lucy and in addition runs the nonprofit Love One Another, which has donated Easter baskets for our community’s children in need for six years. This year they provided bountiful Easter holiday to over 600 kids.
Raising my own three children—and seeing through the years parents who have lost theirs to both sides of crime— has fostered in me a deep commitment to detach from the ranks of unsalvageable felons, whose violent crimes call for prison, those who can be and should be supported and directed to a better path. I have experienced disadvantage, challenge, abundance, and opportunity. I have known life in South America and in the United States of America. I have felt enormous fulfillment in being a witness to and a part of contributing to change in individuals, in our court, and in our community.
I am immensely grateful for this opportunity to serve Wayne County Circuit Court as Chief Judge.
Our wonderful Executive Court Administration Team and bench of dedicated and talented Judges are leaders who join me in gratitude for all of our court employees. They bring pride to our court in their work ethic and the concern and empathy they demonstrate to jurors and to our community of court users. Running the best court in the state takes a team effort, and our co-workers are servant leaders who understand that true fulfillment in public service comes from serving others with dedication. They strive to make every court experience one that instills belief in the opportunity to be heard and to receive equal justice.
As a lifelong painter, I am pleased to be able to now seek charities ancillary to our court work that can benefit by donating art to raise money for urgent causes, such as assisting needy youths with scholarships and in treating addictions and mental health issues that bring rise to crime.
I welcome your requests and ideas for implementing fundraising around donated paintings and commissions.
By giving voice to vulnerable victims, a chance to those seeking rehabilitation, and a fair and full hearing to all who appear before me, I endeavor to reflect appreciation for the extraordinary opportunities afforded to me. As a judge, I subscribe to a philosophy of equal justice, keeping faith with the Constitution, and that it is imperative to retain judicial independence while accepting wisdom, in all its elusiveness, wherever and whenever it comes.
