Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Allen (right), last year’s Purple Sport Coat Award recipient, helped this year’s honoree, Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack, with the coveted jacket in honor of the late Kaye “Chach†Tertzag during the Fourth Annual Kaye Tertzag Tribute Dinner on Thursday, Feb. 28. Photo by John Meiu
Kara Tertzag Lividini (left) greeted guests honoring her late father on Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Fourth Annual Kaye Tertzag Tribute Dinner at the Park Place Banquet Hall in Dearborn. Lividini was happy to welcome this year’s Purple Sport Coat Award recipient Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack (center) and keynote speaker Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian Zahra. Judge Kaye Tertzag and Zahra were great friends and once served together on the Wayne County Circuit Court. Photo by John Meiu
Among those enjoying the event were (left to right) Susan Reed of Reed Winters PLLC, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Patricia Fresard, and Bill Winters of Reed Winters PLLC. Photo by John Meiu
Kara Tertzag Lividini (second from right) shared smiles with (left to right) Stacey Damman, Marcy Hahn, and Cindy Romak. Photo by John Meiu
Also happy to honor the late Judge Tertzag were (left to right) Norman Tucker of Sommers Schwartz PC, Judy Susskind of The Thurswell Law Firm PLLC, and Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Richard Skutt. Photo by John Meiu
Showing support for honoree McCormack was her colleague Michigan Supreme Court Justice Mary Beth Kelly (center) along with Wayne County 33rd District Court Chief Judge Jim Kersten (left) and Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Chief of Staff Donn Fresard. Photo by John Meiu
By Steve Thorpe
Legal News
Friends, colleagues, and family of the late Judge Kaye Tertzag hosted the Fourth Annual Tertzag Tribute Dinner on Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Park Place Banquet Hall in Dearborn.
Judge Tertzag passed away on Feb. 4, 2009, at the age of 70 after a short battle with cancer.
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack was the 2013 recipient of the Purple Sport Coat Award. It was presented to her by last year’s recipient, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David J. Allen. She is the first woman to receive the award.
“I didn’t know Judge Tertzag, but I wish I did. Reading about him has been a lot of fun for me,” said McCormack before the ceremony.
Upon receiving the award. McCormack joked about her short tenure on the bench.
“I think eight weeks into my judicial career is the perfect moment for receiving awards,” she said. “I haven’t had the time to make any enormous blunders yet.”
She also talked about how proud she was to be associated with Tertzag’s legacy.
“I am humbled to receive the Purple Sport Coat Award and to be honored in the name of Kaye Tertzag. I didn’t know him, but I believe I understand the spirit of Kaye Tertzag. That spirit will live only if we nurture it.”
McCormack also said we she was grateful to be spending the evening somewhere with heat and lights.
“We’re without power at my house and have been basically ‘camping’ for the last 48 hours,” she said.
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian Zahra was the keynote speaker at the event. He and Judge Tertzag served together on the Wayne County Circuit Court. Zahra also served twelve years on the Michigan Court of Appeals before Gov. Rick Snyder appointed him to the Supreme Court in 2011.
Zahra appeared as an attorney before Judge Tertzag many times and they eventually became friends. Zahra said he was always struck by the judge’s courtesy and kindness.
“When you encounter someone like Kaye Tertzag, it’s not only a breath of fresh air in an abusive and calloused culture, it’s a revelation of true human discourse and its possibilities,” Zahra said in his remarks. “Kaye was famous for his civility. The archaic definition of the word was ‘the state of being civilized’ and that was certainly true of Kaye.”
Zahra said he strongly believes that the choice of Justice McCormack for the Purple Sport Coat Award would please the late judge being honored at the event.
“I’ve been to a number of judicial investitures and (McCormack’s) was the first where a jurist made a promise to her colleagues,” Zahra said. “She said, and I quote, ‘Even when we inevitably disagree, I will not be disagreeable.’ I think that statement makes Justice McCormack very much in the tradition of Judge Tertzag.”
In addition to Supreme Court Justices Zahra and McCormack, Justice Mary Beth Kelly and Justice David Viviano, appointed recently by Gov. Rick Snyder, were in attendance.
“I’m here to honor Judge Tertzag and spend time with my new colleagues. I’m excited and looking forward to my new job,” Viviano said before the award was presented.
Tertzag was a firm believer in education and his love of the institution is shared by McCormack. Once a Yale professor, she served as the clinical director for the University of Michigan Law School’s Innocence Project before her election to the Michigan Supreme Court in November.
Tertzag attended Southwestern High School in Detroit before earning his bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in 1961. He earned his college money working as a janitor at the Ford Motor Company and then taught for 10 years at River Rouge High School after graduation. He went to law school at night and received his juris doctor degree from Detroit College of Law in 1969.
Active in the Democratic Party, he was city attorney for River Rouge and Melvindale and served on the Wayne County Charter Commission and the Wayne County Community College Board of Trustees before being appointed by Gov. James Blanchard to the Wayne County Circuit Court bench.
The Tertzag family was instrumental in creating the award in his name and his daughter, Kara Tertzag Lividini, is one of the main organizers.
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