…And Why I’m Running
If Michigan voters authorize a Constitutional Convention, I plan to run as a delegate for one reason that is both personal and painfully widespread:
I have personally lived what happens when accountability fails.
And so have thousands of other families across this state.
And no one was there to help us.
I am not running because I have a theory.
I am running because significant harm was done to my family and to me inside Michigan’s legal system, and there was absolutely no meaningful way to stop it once it began.
What happened to us did not happen because the law was unclear.
It happened because process broke down, records failed, discretion went unchecked, and accountability mechanisms that are supposed to protect people never meaningfully engaged. Every single system in place to “protect us” failed us.
That experience irrevocably changed how I see the Constitution itself.
Why I’m Running
For a long time, I believed what most people believe:
- If something is wrong in court, someone will catch it.
- If harm occurs, there will be a remedy.
- If officials abuse discretion, accountability will follow.
That belief did not survive contact with reality.
What I learned is this:
- Michigan’s justice system is structurally designed to mistakenly assume good faith and self-correction.
- When those assumptions fail, the system does not flinch and families absorb the damage.
In our case, the harm did not come from just one dramatic ruling. It was a waterfall of errors that came from:
- missing or unreliable records
- procedural shortcuts treated as harmless
- unchecked discretion
- oversight bodies that move slowly, if at all
- and a system that places the burden of proving harm on the people it already harmed
There was no single lever to pull to make it stop.
That is not and should never be a personal grievance for anyone. That is a constitutional flaw.
I’m Not the Only One
Once I began speaking publicly, researching, and documenting what happened, something else became clear:
Our family’s experience is not at all unusual. We are not an exception. We are the rule.
Michigan’s legal system has:
- destroyed families through completely preventable process failures
- stripped people of liberty without reliable records
- allowed rights to expire because notice never came
- buried accountability behind procedural barriers
- labeled profound violations “harmless” after the fact
These are not edge cases; they are patterns.
Every year, thousands of Michiganders lose years of their lives, their children, their financial stability, or their health not because justice was carefully weighed and rejected, but because the system never had the common decency to stop itself from causing harm.
A system that destroys lives is not neutral; it is inherently dangerous.
The Constitution Is Where This Gets Fixed
So where do we begin? All of this lives inside the Michigan Constitution of 1963.
Our Constitution shapes:
- how courts oversee themselves
- how prosecutors exercise power
- how records are created and preserved
- how discipline works
- whether harm triggers remedy or silence
Right now, the Constitution assumes that:
- judges remain fit unless absolute catastrophe proves otherwise (and even then it’s iffy)
- prosecutors always do the right thing and do not need transparency to remain accountable (that’s laughable)
- missing records are unfortunate but not disqualifying (there is zero excuse)
- oversight can wait
- harm can be doled out by the people in power and families are the ones who absorb the damage
…Those assumptions are morally wrong.
A Constitutional Convention is the only moment when voters can say: we want different assumptions baked into the system itself.
What I Would Do as a Delegate
I would focus my work on one clear goal:
Preventing harm by building visibility, accountability, and safeguards directly into Michigan’s Constitution.
That means:
Requiring Judicial Accountability (Article VI)
- Periodic judicial fitness and capacity evaluations
- Clear, public timelines for discipline
- Defined triggers for intervention when due process repeatedly fails
Making Sentencing Constitutionally Transparent
- No more sham plea bargains
- On-the-record findings for departures and waivers
- Accurate, accessible sentencing records
- Public data that allows patterns to be seen before harm multiplies
Creating a Constitutional Right to Accurate Court Records
- Mandatory digital recording of proceedings
- No loss of rights due to court record failure
- Automatic remedies when administrative errors erase access to justice
Imposing Prosecutorial Transparency (Article V)
- Documented charging and declination decisions
- Notice rights for both victims and defendants
- Independent oversight insulated from retaliation
- Constitutional remedies for bad-faith prosecution and intentional violation of constitutional rights
Separating Attorney Discipline From Courtroom Power
- Truly independent discipline structures
- Public reporting
- No circular oversight (no more fox watching the henhouse)
Protecting People From Process-Based Harm (Article I)
- Procedural integrity as a constitutional right
- Meaningful remedies when process fails
- No forfeiture of rights through silence, confusion, or administrative collapse
Strengthening Legislative Oversight (Article IV)
Authority to:
- Audit courts and prosecutors
- Investigate systemic failure
- Require corrective action
- Publish performance data
Why This Matters
This is not about attacking courts or prosecutors; it is about restoring legitimacy.
Strong institutions do not fear transparency.
Ethical officials do not fear oversight.
Fair systems do not require families to sacrifice themselves to expose failure.
Michigan’s justice system does not have to operate this way.
It is not inevitable.
It is a design choice.
And design choices can be changed.
My Commitment
I am running because my family paid a price that never should have been demanded.
I am running because too many Michigan families are paying the same price quietly.
I am running because constitutional silence enables harm.
If elected as a Constitutional Convention delegate, I would use that seat to ensure Michigan’s Constitution no longer assumes perfection where accountability is required, and no longer tolerates complete destruction in the name of “order.”
It doesn’t have to be like this.
