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photo by steed media service
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Judge, 3rd Judicial Circuit Court-Criminal Division
Of the 300 judges in the state of Michigan, 100 are African American.
In light of that fact, the Honorable Judge Vonda Evans takes her unique
position very seriously.
“I have enjoyed it tremendously — being able to serve the
community and being able to disperse justice and fairness,” Judge
Evan says of her 11 years of service. “I love being able to make
a difference in the lives of the people that come before me. I do a lot
of serious cases such as murder, rape, [and] robbery; crimes that have
victims. And what these people; the defendants, the families, [and] the
victim’s families [want] is — they’re looking for
closure.”
In a country where justice is often found to be anything but blind,
Judge Evans takes great satisfaction in the service she’s able to
contribute through the justice system. “It’s rewarding when
you have an opportunity to impact someone’s life,” she
says. “As a judge, my philosophy has always been to know the
difference between a crime and a mistake.”
“So many times the people that come before me are hurting,”
she continues. “They’re in pain, and they want to know why
[this has happened]. And what I have to tell them is that in life there
are some questions that will never be answered, but what we have to do
is accept what has happened, move on and learn from it. It’s a
big responsibility and it’s definitely demanding, but it’s
very rewarding.” –janaya black
