Court of Appeals judge paved way for future generations
By Zenell Brown
Black History Month can be the igniter to spark the learning of a Black experience past and present for all. Recording and passing down the stories of the Black lawyers and judges is an important vehicle to ensure that the contributions of trailblazers is acknowledged and preserved by both the African American community and the legal community. In approximately 30 days, after 14 years of service, the Hon. Cynthia Diane Stephens will retire from the Michigan Court of Appeals. There is no better time than now, Black History Month, to acknowledge Judge Stephens for her accomplishments and to ensure her name is in the annals of Black History’s Legal Legacies.
In 2019, Judge Stephens received the Detroit Associations of Women’s Clubs, Inc. Rosa Gragg’s Lifting As We Climb Award. The award commemorates Rosa Slade Gragg and her legacy, and it is awarded to honor a woman whose lifetime work embodies service and commitment. Rosa Gragg was inducted in the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 1987 for her achievement in civil rights. An advisor to three U.S. Presidents, Rosa Gragg is remembered most for her concern for the struggles of African American women and for her work in her church and the Detroit community.
Prior to her appointment to the Court of Appeals in 2008, Stephens served as a general jurisdiction trial judge for 23 years. After serving in 36th District Court, Stephens was appointed to the Third Circuit Court in 1985. She was the second African American woman appointed to the Third Circuit Court, and she was sworn in by Judge Lucile Watts. She was the chief judge pro tempore, Mediation Tribunal chair, and presiding Civil Division judge of the 3rd Circuit Court for eight years.
An Emory Law School graduate, Stephens has been admitted to practice in Georgia, Texas, and Michigan. Prior to her election to the bench in 1981, she served as vice-chair of the Wayne County Charter Commission, associate general counsel to the Michigan Senate, regional director for the National Conference of Black Lawyers-Atlanta office, and consultant to the National League of Cities Veterans Discharge Upgrade Project.
Stephens’ work in the State Bar of Michigan includes serving in the role of commissioner, chairing its Justice Initiatives Committee, Communications Committee and Children’s Task Force, and the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee. Moreover, she is a life member and past chapter vice-president of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in Courts. Stephens was speaking about diversity and inclusion before they became omnipresent buzz words tossed about today.
Stephens is also a former chair of the Association of Black Judges of Michigan and a former member of the executive board of the National Bar Association and its Judicial Council. She has been honored by many civic and religious organizations including the inaugural Woodrow Smith Community Service Award from the Shrines of the Black Madonna, the Golden Heritage Award from Little Rock Baptist Church, and the Susan B. Anthony Award from the City of Detroit Human Rights Department. She was awarded the State Bar of Michigan’s highest honor, the Roberts P. Hudson Award in 2005.
Stephens is both a teacher and scholar. She has served as adjunct faculty at Wayne State University Law School, the Detroit College of Law, and the University of Detroit Mercy Law School. She has also served as faculty member for the National Judicial College and the Michigan Judicial Institute and the Emory Law School Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques. She was a contributing author to the Lawyer's Co-Operatives “Michigan Nonstandard Jury Instructions” as well as numerous articles on subjects ranging from jury selection to ethics.
Stephens has an extensive list of civic and community activities, including New Detroit, the Inner City Business Improvement Forum, the Detroit Metropolitan Association Board of Trustees for the United Church of Christ, the Greater Detroit Area Health Care Council, and the Girl Scouts. She also is a proud member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated which was founded on January 13, 1913 by 22 collegiate women at Howard University to promote academic excellence and provide assistance to those in need.
On a more personal note, in the African American community, it is commonplace to recognize kinships. An aunt or auntie is someone who provides wisdom and encouragement; blood ties are not a requirement. The relationship may be formed in a professional, business circumstance but the soul of it, the level of warmth and concern is deeper than mentorship. Judge Stephens is that auntie for many. She teaches and helps to preserve the legacy of the elders, the Black lawyers and judges. Life came full circle, when in 2019 Judge Stephens supported the induction of Judge Lucile Watts into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. Judge Watts was the first African American woman to serve on the Third Circuit Court. Stephens quoting Ms. Lucille, “If you look for excellence, you will achieve diversity at the same time” highlights what both she and Judge Watts taught to African American lawyers and judges who follow in the footsteps and the legal community at large.
In addition to leaving an impeccable record, Stephens paves the way for future generations, providing wise counsel and encouragement. She is even there in the human moments — on the other end of the phone or sitting in the front pew to console when there is a loss. As one of the initiators of the LaRue Heard Scholarship, which is awarded to an Ann Arbor youth, she understands that the responsibility to ensure that poverty does not block the pathways to dreams.
As Stephens reaches a close to her time on the bench, let’s give her flowers, but most importantly let’s record her name in the books of Black History’s Legal Legacies.
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