For Beverly Nettles, the 10-year ordeal of getting her law license reinstated is nearly over.
The former Ingham County Circuit judge was told Feb. 24 that the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board unanimously decided to grant her eligibility for reinstatement. As soon as she completes a couple of legal brush-up courses, she will be allowed to practice law again.
Theoretically, she’s young enough (the state Constitution bans anyone 70 and older from the ballot) to run again for a judgeship … but that’s getting ahead of things.
For now, Nettles, formerly known as Beverly Nettles-Nickerson, is just grateful to clear what seemed at times to be an insurmountable hurdle after being tossed off the bench and stripped of her law license.
“My hope is to be an inspiration to those who have had trials and tribulations,” she said. “I hope my own journey to fulfillment will lead others to not be conformists or complacent or cowardly in dealing with difficult issues.”
Say what you will about Nettles, she’s certainly not any of the aforementioned three “Cs.”
The African-American one-time jurist was before her time in calling out implicit bias in the workplace. There wasn’t a name for it in 2006. Claims along those lines definitely weren’t taken with the same level of seriousness as they are in 2021.
Back then, it was “show us the proof of racism.” You don’t have anything tangible? You lose.
Racial sensitive training wasn’t exactly a widespread thing.
The State Court Administrative Office couldn’t find anything to Nettles’ claims that she was treated differently by the chief judge than her fellow judges. So, when she got caught stuck in the legal soup due to a messy divorce, she definitely didn’t get the benefit of the doubt.
In 2008, the Michigan Supreme Court agreed with six of the Judicial Tenure Commission’s counts against Nettles that she made false statements under oath about a divorce proceeding, fabricated evidence and was excessively absent.
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