LANSING — Michigan Supreme Court candidate Connie Kelley hopes that she can represent hard working middle class families if elected to serve in the highest level of court in the state of Michigan. After serving 27 years as a lawyer, Kelley followed that by holding a position in the Wayne County Circuit Court, where she currently serves as a judge. 

Kelley tells The Arab American News that she would work hard on overseeing more family related cases in the Supreme Court because protecting women and children is going to be her top priority. On a yearly basis, of the 2,000 plus cases that apply to be overseen in the Supreme Court, only a few hundred actually go through, depending on what cases judges feel need to be a higher priority. Kelley say she doesn’t want family issues such as domestic violence to be overlooked in the Supreme Court, and with her history in family law, she feels she could be the best candidate out of her opponents to represent these families in the higher court.

“I have zero tolerance when it comes to domestic violence and it’s certainly an issue that’s near and dear to my heart. I think there should be more family related cases in the Supreme Court because those types of cases touch more people than any other kind of law,” Kelley stated.

Kelley has a history of working closely with families in Wanye County. She was one of three Judges who helped start up a domestic violence prevention court in Wayne County called “The Solution Oriented Domestic Violence Prevention Court,” with a mission to fill the gaps left by the Personal Protection Order (PPO) system using a solution oriented approach to the issue of domestic violence. The court was started through the Office on Violence Against Women with the help of Kelley, Judge Charlene Elder and Judge Richard B. Halloran, who received funding through a state grant to launch the new court.

Kelley

Judge Kelley says that when it comes to family law, it’s important to be educated on all cultures and religions across the spectrum. Kelley says she’s worked closely with both the Arab American community and the Muslim community when it comes to Islamic family law issues such as marriage, divorce and domestic violence, by reaching out to local Imams as well as developing a relationship with ACCESS. She says that she is proud of her recent endorsement by AAPAC, who will be including Kelley on their election slate on November 6th, which will be distributed by mail and handed out at polling locations. 

“I am very proud and humble to be endorsed by AAPAC. I have so many friends in the community who have encouraged me to run and I’m very happy to have their endorsement. It’s important for the sake of justice that judges to be in touch with people and I would pledge to stay involved with the community and be accessible to the residents of this state if elected,” Kelley says.  

Family law won’t be her only objective if Kelley has the opportunity to serve in a seat in the Supreme Court. She is hoping more cases related to environmental and employment issues will come her way as well.

“I do think there should be more environmental cases because people always have so much questions and concerns these days. Cases involving employment, collective bargaining, wages and all those issues are also important to the Supreme Court because they can set a precedent,” Kelley stated.

Kelley says another duty she wants to fulfill is helping restore people’s faith in the Supreme Court system. She says there is a large perception that many judges vote based on party lines and that is something she feels needs to stay out of the court system. She cites the Supreme Courts recent unanimous decision to have both Proposal 1 and Proposal 6 be placed on the ballot for the public to decide, as a great move by the court.

“I was really happy to see the court decide on something unanimously. I’m all about democracy and I feel it’s important to let the people decide. If we continue to see some tough decisions made by the court, and see more examples of them stepping outside of those party lines, the publics confidence in the court and their ideologies will continue to rise,” Kelley adds.

Three of the seven seats in Michigan’s Supreme Court are up for election during this year’s General Elections. Kelley will be one of two democrats hoping to win one of the two eight year terms on the bench. Also running for the second seat supported by the Democrat party is Michigan Law Professor Bridget Mary McCormack. The Republican party is advocating and supporting Incumbent Steven Markman and Oakland County Circuit Judge Colleen O’Brien. Kelley hopes voters will support her because she says she has witnessed the struggles people endure from both sides of the law.

“As a lawyer I represented so many different kinds of people in many different courts throughout Michigan…regular people who were fired from their jobs or people who fell victim to discrimination. But now as a Judge I sit on the other side of the bench and I have a birdseye view of the legal system, and I want to represent those people who continue to struggle.”