Blue Water Woman--Fall 2020

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CARYN VANDERHEUVEL 8 FALL <strong>2020</strong> BLUEWATERWOMAN.COM
MAKING fair decisions BY DALE HEMMILA P “Politics is personal. Elections are about people.” -- David Greene, Journalist Friend of Court Attorney Referee Caryn VanderHeuvel understands how personally the outcomes of court cases affect families in St. Clair County. Every day in her work, she makes decisions that affect people’s lives in a myriad of ways, and she doesn’t take that responsibility lightly. Better than most, she understands the importance of having an experienced, compassionate and, most of all, fair judge behind the bench. That commitment and dedication to ensuring that citizens in St. Clair County are treated with respect and fairness in the courtroom were driving forces behind VanderHeuvel’s decision to run for St. Clair County 72nd District Court Judge. A Port Huron native, VanderHeuvel decided to run in 2019, when she knew that District Judge Cynthia Platzer’s term was ending and Platzer had indicated that she was not planning to run for re-election. Platzer then ended up retiring a year early, thus leaving a then-open seat on the bench. “About a year and a half ago, some friends who are attorneys came to me and said, ‘We heard that Judge Platzer is talking about retiring and not running again and we really could use somebody with your temperament and your world view in the District Court,’” VanderHeuvel said. After some thought, and with the support of her husband and five children, she made the decision to run. “My family said, ‘Public service is what you are already doing working with these clients and their everyday issues, and this is just another step,’ so here we are,” she said, recalling her family’s response. While new to running for public office, VanderHeuvel brings plenty of legal experience into the race. Her Juris Doctor degree is from the University Of Detroit School of Law, where she graduated with honors, in 1997. She went on to practice as an attorney focusing on family law. She also spent more than 10 years as Research Attorney and Law Clerk for St. Clair County’s 31st Circuit Court, working closely with now-retired Judge Peter Deegan until 2010 when she moved into her position at the Friend of Court. It is with that strong base of legal knowledge and experience that she hopes to add common sense, compassion, humanity and, most of all, fairness, as a District Court judge. She noted that Friend of Court matters revolve around family legal issues and it is not unusual for the same population to end up in District Court. “We see a lot of the same people in the Friend of Court that we do in District Court,” she explained. “I see them in Friend of Court because they may be struggling with financial issues, child support or parenting custody issues. A lot of those same families are struggling with criminal issues, landlord- tenant issues, and small claims issues. The skills that I’ve built in Friend of Court trying to resolve those issues, I think, really transitions well into District Court.” VanderHeuvel believes that a judge in that position needs to be creative in dealing with the people who would come before the bench. “You need to have a judge in District Court who is willing to look beyond the one solution of incarceration,” she explained. “Throwing people in jail is not what’s going to be best for individuals or for the community. These are not hardcore felons that we are going to incarcerate for 20 years. These are our neighbors and our family members. We need to consider all the options in regard to rehabilitation. That’s something that, as a Friend of Court referee when I’m resolving family issues, I have to consider all the options.” FALL <strong>2020</strong> BLUEWATERWOMAN.COM 9
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Page 5 and 6: FROM THE EDITOR EDITOR/PUBLISHER PA
Page 7 and 8: BIG PICTURE vision BY PATTI SAMAR I
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Page 13 and 14: in July of 2019, and she and her te
Page 15 and 16: A VOICE of change BY PATTI SAMAR De
Page 17 and 18: diversity, can be of great benefit
Page 19 and 20: READY to take the wheel BY PATTI SA
Page 21 and 22: 43° North of the Equator. Warmth i
Page 23 and 24: LEANING in BY PATTI SAMAR You could
Page 25 and 26: THE SHOW must go on If the Emmy’s
Page 27 and 28: DETERMINED to win BY DALE HEMMILA K
Page 29 and 30: A “There’s no crying in basebal
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Blue Water Woman--Fall 2020

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