Should Ella Bully_Cummings Receive Judge Appointment?

[eno]

Should former Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings be appointed a magistrate judge in the 36th District Court?

Editorial: Too many questions
Don't place ex-Mayor Kilpatrick's police chief on Detroit court
The Detroit News
Former Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings has applied for an opening as a magistrate on Detroit's 36th District Court. It would be an unwise appointment.
Too many questions remain about her role as the city's senior police official during the disgraced former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's tenure. The ex-chief, an attorney, resigned the same day Kilpatrick resigned. She has admitted to questionable judgment in authorizing the use and cost of an expensive Lincoln Navigator by the former mayor's wife.
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She has denied a role in the firing of former Deputy Chief Gary Brown, the head of the department's internal affairs division, who was removed for investigating allegations of misconduct by members of the ex-mayor's security detail. She was not the chief at the time, but text messages indicate that while she was an assistant chief, she kept Kilpatrick's chief of staff and former lover Christine Beatty apprised of some of the events within the department.
Under her tenure, the police lab had to be closed down because of unreliable work and the department remained under the control of a federal monitor [[who has her own relationship with the ex-mayor to answer for). Bully-Cummings ran for a seat on the court last fall and was rejected. She shouldn't be rewarded now with an appointment to the lesser magistrate post.


From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110106/...#ixzz1AHnXbLET

[Detroitnerd]

Yeah, there are too many doubts about her ...

[detroitbred]

Hell no! She cannot be trusted.......it'd be like leaving the fox in charge of the hen house!

[1KielsonDrive]

Yeah, there are too many doubts about her ...

Agreed, but.......your statement has nothing to do with the process that'll be used to determine if she gains the appointment. It's all politics. Background and ability have little to do with the final determination. Am I stating the obvious, or what?

[Detroitnerd]

Agreed, but.......your statement has nothing to do with the process that'll be used to determine if she gains the appointment. It's all politics. Background and ability have little to do with the final determination. Am I stating the obvious, or what?

Yeah, but we neglect the other part of the process too often. It takes place on the street but informs the decisions made on the inside. Here's an example:

[eno]

Ex-top cop Ella Bully-Cummings seeks court post
Former Detroit police chief under Kilpatrick applies for magistrate in 36th District Court
Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
Detroit— Ella Bully-Cummings, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's chief of police until he pleaded guilty in 2008 to felony charges stemming from the text message scandal, has applied for a magistrate's vacancy at the city's 36th District Court.
Last month, the court's Chief Judge Marilyn Atkins denied a radio talk show report Bully-Cummings had been appointed to fill a year-end vacancy. Atkins said then Bully-Cummings wasn't even a candidate for the position, but since has confirmed the attorney, former top cop and unsuccessful candidate for judge in November submitted an application.

"I can say she has applied," Atkins said Tuesday. "Apparently people were calling her and congratulating her on the appointment that hadn't happened. Because of all of that she became aware of the opening and called me and expressed an interest. She has since presented her resume, like everyone else who is interested."
Atkins said she is considering about 10 applicants for the $67,000 to $116,000 per year job, and plans to announce her selection by the end of the week.
District court magistrates don't have the power of elected judges, but handle routine matters such as traffic tickets, small claims disputes and criminal arraignments. The district court has six magistrates hired by a court's chief judge. Elected district court judges in Michigan are paid about $140,000.
Bully-Cummings, who became a Detroit police officer at age 19 and earned a law degree by attending college after work, left the department in 1999 to practice law. She was appointed in 2003 by Kilpatrick to become the city's first female police chief.
She resigned as leader of the Detroit Police Department on Sept. 4, 2008, the same day Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to felony charges and submitted a resignation letter.
Bully-Cummings had said at the time she planned to retire anyway.
She resumed her legal career as a management/employment law specialist, and now lists her home address on Detroit's east side as her law office, according to the Michigan Bar Association. She ran for a seat on the 36th District Court in November and came within 400 votes of winning.
While campaigning, she distanced herself from Kilpatrick, saying, "I was not his top cop. I was sworn to uphold the law, not the mayor, even if the whole world thinks otherwise."


From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110105/...#ixzz1AHtCU0Jt

[trotwood]

"Should Ella Bully_ Cummings Recive Judge Appointment"

No!

[SWMAP]

Agreed. A pal needs a job and no matter how much she has demonstrated a non-judicial temperament [[I witnessed her sneering and contemptuous treatment of concerned Detroit citizens at community meetings when she was closing precincts and opening districts) she will get a job and then she will be elected a judge in the next election.

It is sick. KK must be sending emails from jail and he is still being obeyed in some corners of Detroit.

I note that Granholm recently said he was a "disaster" But I also remember that Granholm appointed several KK friends to judgeships. They still have a lot of power around here like Ruth Carter [[once the girlfriend of Bernard Kilpatrick) and Cylenthia Milller and a few others I can't think of right now.

[Ray1936]

I know she has a law degree, but is she an attorney? That is, did she ever pass the Michigan bar exam?

[jt1]

No---------------------

[Gannon]

Oh.

Hell.

NO!


I'd LOVE to get the Federal Prosecutor's opinion on this, but I'm guessing they are still unable to breathe, the continual gut laughter probably lost them the day.

[MsChievous]

Oh Hell NO!

[Fnemecek]

Ella Bully-Cummings sucked as a police chief. There's nothing to indicate that she won't suck as a judge.

[GOAT]

She is absolutely useless. But seeing as how everyone at the top of the food chain gets paid, consider this a done deal.

[EastsideQT]

Why not she's no better or worse than anybody else in that Building.

[daddeeo]

She's starting to remind me of Sharon McFail. Every time a government job pops up, she has her name in the ring.
She should not receive a judge appointment!!
She's already proven the Peter Principal.

[Hypestyles]

No she should not get it. no more public office for her...

[swingline]

I know she has a law degree, but is she an attorney? That is, did she ever pass the Michigan bar exam?

Ms. Bully Cummings passed the bar several years ago. She has apparently briefly practiced law during a stint away from the DPD. With her police experience and her private practice experience she probably possesses the minimum qualifications and experience for the magistrate position.

Many would agree, however, that her underhanded enabling of the Kilpatrick administration's manipulation of the DPD and the EPU make her unfit for the position. She may not have been corrupt in the sense that she benefited financially from her conduct. But she did fail the department. Nonetheless, she has lots of friends, including some who are 36th District Court judges. Hopefully Judge Atkins will make the right choice and pick someone else for the position.

[eno]

Ex-chief Ella Bully-Cummings fails in bid for court
Detroit native is first Latina appointed to 36th District post
Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
Detroit —The city's 36th District Court has a new magistrate, and it's not former Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings. Southwest Detroit native Laura A. Echartea's appointment on Friday by Chief Judge Marylin Atkins makes her the first Latina to serve the court as a magistrate.
The vacancy had stirred controversy last month when a radio talk show reported that Bully-Cummings, who served as disgraced former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's police chief, already had the $67,000 to $116,000-a-year job locked up. When Atkins denied the story, saying Bully-Cummings hadn't applied for the job, Bully-Cummings filed a resumé for the position.

Magistrates don't have the power of elected judges, but handle routine matters like traffic offenses, small claims and criminal arraignments. The court has 61 judges and six magistrates.
Atkins said she chose Echartea from a field of about 10 applicants.
"It is my intent to have a bench that reflects the makeup of our community as much as possible," Atkins said in a written announcement of the hiring released Friday. "It is an honor and a privilege for me to appoint the first Latino magistrate to our bench."
Echartea was licensed to practice law in 1989. She has practiced criminal, probate, immigration and family law. She has degrees from Wayne State University and the Detroit College of Law.
"My goal is to serve the people with respect and integrity all while continuing to make a positive change within the court and the community," Echartea said in the statement issued by the court.
"It is amazing how my career started out with 36th District Court and now to be appointed as a magistrate — it has come full circle."
Bully-Cummings couldn't be reached for comment.


From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110108/...#ixzz1ASggajla