Michigan Supreme Court Justices, Does Race Matter?
Have we not been told most of our lives that Lady Justice is blind. In fact Lady Justice is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. We have all seen her attributes of a blindfold, a balance, and a sword.
I thought the blindfold was to signify that the law is blind and if the law is blind what does it matter what color the judge is? Well apparently it does matter to some people.
For the first time in 33 years, the Michigan Supreme Court will not have an African-American justice or a person of color come Jan. 1 after Justice Kurtis Wilder's election loss...Since Democratic Party-nominated Megan Cavanagh narrowly defeated Republican-nominated Wilder, the state's highest court will become an all-white body
Wait, is the Detroit News actually telling us that Democrats voted out the black person for the white person? Well I learned from the Obama era that if you disagree and God forbid vote against a person of color than you are a racist and/or bigot. It appears that there are quite a few racists and/or bigots in the Michigan Democratic Party, or at least that is what people on the right were told when they did not vote for or agree with a person of color. In fact not only did the Michigan Democratic Party not vote for a black Michigan Supreme Court justice but they did not vote for a black candidate for U.S. Senator, John James. In both races the Michigan Democratic Party voted for the white person.
The head of the Detroit branch of the NAACP, Rev. Wendell Anthony, was quoted in the article saying:
We're always concerned about diversity...Diversity presents an opportunity for there to be a greater sensitivity toward different people, different backgrounds, different values, different situations. When you have a diverse court, diverse company, or diverse anything ... it just makes a broader view and gives one a broader understanding of the issues impacting and effecting that particular ... situation.
It appears what Reverend Anthony seems to be telling us is justice is actually not blind. That the color of a justice or judge does actually matter because they would have “a greater sensitivity toward different people, different backgrounds, different values, different situations” thus interpret the written word of a Michigan law differently than a white justice.
Is the Reverend saying that people of color would interpret the law differently. If that is so then white justices and judges would not always rule justly in a case involving people of color. If that is true then would not the opposite be true? Would white people not receive a just ruling if a person of color is the justice or judge?
Do you see how this game can be played out if we go down the path of race and justice. In today’s day and age we should not go down the path that law as written does not matter but who is in charge at the time determines what the law means.
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