The Dexter Leader
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Historic judge prepares for fourth term
By Sean Dalton, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: July 17, 2008
Washtenaw County Probate Judge Nancy Francis is nearing the end of her 6-year term.
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It is the third term served by the county's first African-American judiciary member and she is unopposed, so the expiration of her term in January 2009 will not be the end of her tenure.
Francis hasn't been opposed since coming to the bench, which she says is very gratifying, but she has always understood the nature of judicial elections and speaks about them freely.
"I've been told that you would have to commit a criminal act or be a real embarrassment to the county to be taken on," she said. "If you have 'incumbent' next to your name you're usually unopposed."
She says that most people aren't familiar with the good judicial candidates at the ballot box without doing some analysis.
"They vote because they know you, have heard of you or you have incumbent next to your name."
But she welcomes voters to borrow some of her pointers. She also says she likes to think that she embodies the qualities that she would look for in judicial candidates from a voter's perspective.
"I think (a candidate) needs to be able to listen and you need to see how deeply they think about things when they are asked a question," Francis said. "That person needs to answer thoughtfully and not just give a routine answer or steer into some political embellishment. They need to recite knowledge of the law."
She also recommends looking into a candidate's past record and seeing what kind of work they've done and decisions they have made, as judges serve in their roles much longer than many other elected officials.
"To the extent that we can assess it, honesty is very important," Francis said. "The ability to treat people fairly and knowledge of what kind of resources there are in the community that you can steer people towards are also important.
"I care about people - I care that when they leave my courtroom that they've been dealt with fairly, that I've listened to them and have tried to come up with the best solution while following the requirements of the law."
Francis previously practiced law for 17 years, at the end of which she ran for a position on the Washtenaw County Circuit Court bench.
She was unsuccessful in her bid for that position, but was appointed by former Michigan Governor James Blanchard to the bench, after the juvenile court judge resigned in 1990.
She served as judge in the juvenile court for 12 years, before the county courts were reorganized. Juvenile proceedings were placed within the jurisdiction of the circuit court, where referees currently handle them.
From there Francis was moved to the probate bench, where she handles divorce and custody proceedings, adoptions, conservatorship and settlement of estates, wills and mental health determinations.
She is one of two probate court judges, alongside Washtenaw County Probate Judge Darlene O'Brien. Francis handles the personal protection orders (PPO's) and judgment cases, so her case volume is more than half of what the county's probate court handles.
Her advice to those who find themselves in probate court is given with custody and divorce proceedings in mind.
"It's very important to be respectful of the opposing party and not try to speak over them or degrade them," Francis says. "Try to see their point of view."
She also recommends identifying points that one could compromise on early in order to achieve a "balance" between the interests of both parties.
"One thing that we frequently don't see here in cases involving children are parents who are thinking beyond themselves," Francis said. "We don't see people who are thinking about their children and how things are going to work out for them."
The worst situation that she sees in her court room is what two good parents get embroiled in a battle over time with the children.
"I'm seeing more cases coming to the court where people just say they are going to have shared time, because they realize that neither of them can have full time anymore," Francis said, pointing to a growing trend of parents understanding the reality of the situation - that if you are no longer going to be together, both parents care about the children, and the children want time with both parents that no one parent can have all of the time that they want.
Francis says that she is still expecting to see 3,500 cases by year's end, which has held steady despite the declining population of Michigan.
Another trend that she sees - this one actually changing - is the use of PPO's, which she said were originally created to protect woman in domestic violence situations.
"A number of people are bringing claims against others (who don't share traditional criteria)," Francis said. "Just this morning I heard a case of two neighbors bringing (PPO's) against each other."
She says that most of the time PPO's are an effective way to stop a situation from getting worse and protecting victims from escalated or continued offenses.
One of the cases that still makes her think about it at night involves the murder of a woman who had sought a PPO against her murder prior to the killing.
"I recognized a name from my docket and looked through my PPO list, because the worst thing you can imagine is someone getting murdered who has been on your docket," she said. "I had ordered a PPO for this woman, but she never served it on this man, and I often wonder if it had made a difference.
"It would have been interesting had she served it. Would he have stayed away? I did everything I could, but I often wonder what could have been."
Francis says the job is difficult and funding for court services are scant, but she tries to "make decisions that help people."
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