Native running for state court seat
By GARRETT NEESE, DMG WriterHOUGHTON - A Copper Country native is seeking state office.
Paula Manderfield, who grew up in Houghton, is running for a seat on the Michigan Court of Appeals. She would represent the Fourth District, which includes the Upper Peninsula and 33 counties in the northern Lower Peninsula.
Manderfield, now a judge in the Ingham County Circuit Court, grew up outside of Houghton on M-26, a little past the current location of the Copper Country Mall.
"I grew up in a big family," she said. "I was the eighth of 12 children ... I think you learn to be independent and fend for yourself."
She remembers skating at the rink in Dodgeville.
"I could skate really well back then," she said. "I try to skate with my kids and I've totally lost the skill. I'm afraid I'll break something."
She also remembers playing with her siblings in the backyard on small hay bales.
"Us kids could pick them up and stack them and make a fort," she said. "The farmer didn't like it, but we did it anyways."
Manderfield "wasn't somebody who wanted to be a lawyer since I was five," she said. Instead, she graduated from Michigan Technological University in 1975 with a associate's degree in nursing. After that, she obtained a bachelor's degree in nursing from Michigan State University.
"They teach you a little bit about legal implications in nursing," she said. "When I finished at MSU, I applied to (Lansing's) Cooley Law School, got in, and the rest is history."
After 10 years in a private practice, Manderfield was elected to the Lansing District Court in 1992. Manderfield has spent nearly eight years as a judge in the Ingham County Circuit Court.
"I think you have the opportunity to really give out justice and make the right decision for those people who are appearing before you," she said. "And I still feel that way. We are limited by what our appellate laws are, but on a day-to-day basis, I feel like I have that power to do that."
Manderfield is running against Flint lawyer Michael Kelly, who she said lacks the necessary experience behind the bench.
"You're basically judging the judges, and I think that would be difficult to do if you've never been a judge," she said.
Asked about rulings she disagreed with, Manderfield cited the erosion of the ability to recover damages in personal injury lawsuits.
"If a drunk driver runs a red light and smashes into you, it's very difficult to sue that person successfully, regardless of their fault for the accident," she said.
Manderfield's endorsements include the Detroit News; former state Attorney General Frank Kelley; more than 100 judges, including seven Court of Appeals judges; and numerous groups and politicians, including State Sen. Mike Prusi.
Manderfield still comes back to visit occasionally, mostly in summer. She likes to spend time at her family's camp on Sandy Lake, near Twin Lakes, as do her children, she said.
"They love coming up there and seeing their cousins," she said.
For more information, go to promotejudgemanderfield.com.
Garrett Neese can be reached at gneese@mininggazette.com
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BLue08
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10-17-08 1:08 PM
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I respectfully submit this information regarding, Michael J. Kelly, the other candidate for Court of Appeals. Mr. Kelly has practiced law for over twenty years in courtrooms across the entire State. He has tried over one hundred jury trials which is more than most lawyers try in an entire career. His extensive appellate experience is something that is essential to the Court of Appeals. While experience as a trial judge is beneficial, it certainly is not essential. Nearly one-half of the Court of Appeals judges were never trial court judges. Five of the current Supreme Court justices of Michigan were never trial court judges.They had extensive appellate experience similar to Mr.Kelly. Governor Granholm had the opportunity to appoint five judges to the Court of Appeals. Only two were trial court judges; three were lawyers with extensive appellate experience, like Mr.Kelly. One of his endorsements is The MI Association for Justice, the largest association of lawyers in MI (
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Taylor1
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10-14-08 6:08 PM
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GO PAULA!
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