Judge Gershwin Drain, an alumnus of the University of Michigan Law School with his portrait that was painted by Jamie Lee McMahan, a gifted artist whose works have spanned the federal judiciary, academia, and the political landscape. The portrait ceremony was held October 3. Next April, Drain will mark 40 years in the judiciary, including the 36th District Court, the Recorder’s Court, the Wayne County Circuit Court, and 13 years with the U.S. District Court.
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
For a federal judge whose life and career has been marked by distinction and humility, it seems only fitting that Gershwin Drain labeled his portrait ceremony a truly “humbling experience” that reminded him of “the many people who have shaped, guided, and supported me throughout” his 13 years on the U.S. District Court bench.
“To have a portrait hung in this great courthouse is more than I ever imagined, especially as a young lawyer and a young judge,” Drain told a throng of admirers who gathered on October 3 at the U.S. District Court in Detroit for the ceremony honoring the federal jurist who recently took senior status.
The occasion was celebrated by a distinguished list of speakers that included Chief Judge Stephen Murphy; U.S. District Judge David Lawson; John Taylor, a professor at the University of Houston Law School; Gerald Evelyn, a prominent criminal defense attorney who formerly worked at the State Defender’s Office; Kelly Dehn, longtime Career Law Clerk for Judge Drain; and his two daughters, attorneys Shelley Drain and Shannon Salinas.
Each speaker took joy in lauding the Detroit native who next April will mark 40 years in the judiciary – including the 36th District Court, the Recorder’s Court, the Wayne County Circuit Court, and the U.S. District Court.
At each stop, Judge Drain said he “learned from my colleagues, lawyers, litigants, and staff the importance of patience, fairness, and compassion,” qualities that he has embraced on a daily basis in his work.
“Over the years I have learned that every case is the most important case in the world to someone,” Drain said during his remarks at the portraiture ceremony. “Whether the matter is large or small in the eyes of the law.
“I have learned that listening is more powerful than speaking,” he added. “People come to court for a chance to be heard and to have their story acknowledged.
“I have learned that integrity is non-negotiable,” he stressed. “A judge’s authority rests not on power, but on trust.”
An alumnus of the University of Michigan Law School, Drain in the early stages of his legal career worked for 12 years at the Federal Defender’s Office (FDO) for the Eastern District of Michigan, learning the nuances of trial advocacy from the late James E. Roberts, who helped launch the Detroit office in 1972.
“He was a truly great trial lawyer and we (deputy defenders) loved watching him in front of a jury,” Drain said of Roberts. “His door was always open to us.”Another key mentor to Drain during his time at the Defender’s Office was Damon J. Keith, who at the time was a judge on the U.S. District Court before ascending to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
“When I started at the Defender’s Office in 1974, he was the sole African-American judge on this bench and he helped me in a multitude of ways,” Drain said of the late federal jurist, who generously shared his wisdom and help to up-and-coming lawyers.
While working at the Defender’s Office, Drain crossed legal paths with two of his future judicial colleagues, Judge David Lawson and Judge Paul Borman, both of whom have played important roles over the course of his career.
In particular, Drain recalled a six-week drug conspiracy trial in which he teamed with Lawson in representing co-defendants, both of whom fled before the trial.
“We had a common problem – no client,” Drain said with a smile. “I knew that (Mr.) Lawson was a very smart, intelligent, and knowledgeable lawyer. So, every time he made an objection, I said, ‘Judge, I join in the objection of Mr. Lawson.’ And so, the trial went.
“I developed an even greater appreciation for Judge Lawson when I got here on the federal bench and saw him exercise leadership skills and was a key adviser to all the chief judges that I have seen here on the bench,” Drain remarked.
“Moreover, his wisdom, advice, and helpfulness is extended to all members of our bench and we all rely on him.”
Drain said he is similarly indebted to Judge Borman, who was appointed to the federal bench in 1994 after serving as chief of the FDO for 15 years.
“He was a very fair, helpful, and progressive person to work with,” Drain said of Borman, who also created the HOPE program that helps those who have served lengthy federal sentences re-enter society in as seamless a way as possible.
“HOPE is also an acronym which represents ‘Helping Offenders Progressively Excel,’” Drain indicated. “It is a very intensive supervised release program and Judge Borman invited me to be a part of that program with him and the team that’s involved in it. We help the participants successfully complete their term of supervised release.”
Drain’s desire to do good was strongly influenced by his parents, Vera and Frank, Alabama natives who were raised in the Jim Crow south where racial bigotry was a fact of life. After meeting in college, the couple married and eventually migrated to Michigan, where Drain’s father landed a skilled trades job with Ford Motor Co. at its massive Rouge Plant. His mother was a seamstress for the Hughes-Hatcher-Suffrin clothing store in Detroit, a job that offered a special benefit for the aspiring lawyer in the family.
“My mom monogrammed some of my shirts with the label, ‘Individually Made for Gershwin Drain,’” he said with a grin. “As a result, I was looking better than I deserved to look.”
In college at Western Michigan University, Drain had the look of budding gridiron star, playing defensive back for the Broncos. A starter during his junior and senior years, Drain drew praise for his tackling ability, even when facing the likes of such future NFL stars as Duane Thomas and “Mercury” Morris.
College, he noted, offered a far greater benefit than being on a football scholarship. It also afforded him the opportunity to meet and marry “my wonderful wife and partner, Meredith, who has been an incredible support throughout the years,” said Drain.
“In a couple of months, we will celebrate our 57th wedding anniversary. You need to know that we got married when we were 10 years old,” he said to a roar of laughter.
“Honey, I am grateful for your love and support . . . The sacrifices that you made so that I could devote myself to this judicial calling are sacrifices I will never forget.”
Nor will the couple’s two daughters, Shelley and Shannon, who each at the October 3 ceremony shared special reflections about their father.
“For as long as I can remember, my dad has been involved in ministries,” said Shelley, an attorney with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. “When I was younger, he was involved in prison ministries. . . Then he got involved in youth ministries. He explained to me that he was sharing his faith in God and trying to be a mentor and counsel young people that are incarcerated.
“My dad is the kind of man who gives of his time, his heart, and his energy to people who need hope, encouragement, and sometimes someone to just believe in them,” Shelley declared. “I asked him recently what he wanted to do if he actually ever decided to retire one day . . . He told me that first of all he’s not retiring anytime soon, but if and when he does, that will just give him more time to be involved in ministries.”
Shannon, associate general counsel for the Investment Company Institute, took a trip back in time in reflecting on her father’s rise to the federal bench, from the sting of an early election setback for a seat on the 36th District Court to the unbridled joy in 2011 of being nominated by President Barack Obama for an opening on the federal court in Detroit.
“Of course, the next big hurdle is that he needed to be confirmed by the Senate, which includes a Senate committee hearing and then a vote by the full Senate,” Shannon related. “In his Senate hearing, we learned from the very harsh questioning that some Senators had labeled him as ‘controversial.’ Which, to those of us who know him well, seems hilarious. He may be the least controversial person I know. Always doing things by the book.
“And in part, because of that ‘controversial’ label, his nomination just sat there, for months on end, not being put up for a vote,” Shannon recalled. “I really cannot convey the roller coaster that this process took us on . . . And then one day right before they began this long August recess, with no notice to us, the Senate held the vote and he squeaked through. It was a nail-biter, but he made it and became a federal judge.”
The Senate confirmation, Shannon said, was part of a story that helped demonstrate “some of the lessons I’ve learned by watching my dad,” lessons that she has taken to heart:
• “Don’t count your chickens BEFORE they hatch.
• BUT, DO work hard for what you want. Set big goals and believe that you can achieve them.
• “Don’t worry about what other people say or think about you, and don’t let other people’s opinions limit your goals.
• “Have faith and never lose hope.”
All well-chosen words from a man whose portrait now cements his presence among the pillars of the federal judiciary in the Eastern District of Michigan, a place where he continues to serve with the highest ideals of justice and equality in mind.
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
For a federal judge whose life and career has been marked by distinction and humility, it seems only fitting that Gershwin Drain labeled his portrait ceremony a truly “humbling experience” that reminded him of “the many people who have shaped, guided, and supported me throughout” his 13 years on the U.S. District Court bench.
“To have a portrait hung in this great courthouse is more than I ever imagined, especially as a young lawyer and a young judge,” Drain told a throng of admirers who gathered on October 3 at the U.S. District Court in Detroit for the ceremony honoring the federal jurist who recently took senior status.
The occasion was celebrated by a distinguished list of speakers that included Chief Judge Stephen Murphy; U.S. District Judge David Lawson; John Taylor, a professor at the University of Houston Law School; Gerald Evelyn, a prominent criminal defense attorney who formerly worked at the State Defender’s Office; Kelly Dehn, longtime Career Law Clerk for Judge Drain; and his two daughters, attorneys Shelley Drain and Shannon Salinas.
Each speaker took joy in lauding the Detroit native who next April will mark 40 years in the judiciary – including the 36th District Court, the Recorder’s Court, the Wayne County Circuit Court, and the U.S. District Court.
At each stop, Judge Drain said he “learned from my colleagues, lawyers, litigants, and staff the importance of patience, fairness, and compassion,” qualities that he has embraced on a daily basis in his work.
“Over the years I have learned that every case is the most important case in the world to someone,” Drain said during his remarks at the portraiture ceremony. “Whether the matter is large or small in the eyes of the law.
“I have learned that listening is more powerful than speaking,” he added. “People come to court for a chance to be heard and to have their story acknowledged.
“I have learned that integrity is non-negotiable,” he stressed. “A judge’s authority rests not on power, but on trust.”
An alumnus of the University of Michigan Law School, Drain in the early stages of his legal career worked for 12 years at the Federal Defender’s Office (FDO) for the Eastern District of Michigan, learning the nuances of trial advocacy from the late James E. Roberts, who helped launch the Detroit office in 1972.
“He was a truly great trial lawyer and we (deputy defenders) loved watching him in front of a jury,” Drain said of Roberts. “His door was always open to us.”Another key mentor to Drain during his time at the Defender’s Office was Damon J. Keith, who at the time was a judge on the U.S. District Court before ascending to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
“When I started at the Defender’s Office in 1974, he was the sole African-American judge on this bench and he helped me in a multitude of ways,” Drain said of the late federal jurist, who generously shared his wisdom and help to up-and-coming lawyers.
While working at the Defender’s Office, Drain crossed legal paths with two of his future judicial colleagues, Judge David Lawson and Judge Paul Borman, both of whom have played important roles over the course of his career.
In particular, Drain recalled a six-week drug conspiracy trial in which he teamed with Lawson in representing co-defendants, both of whom fled before the trial.
“We had a common problem – no client,” Drain said with a smile. “I knew that (Mr.) Lawson was a very smart, intelligent, and knowledgeable lawyer. So, every time he made an objection, I said, ‘Judge, I join in the objection of Mr. Lawson.’ And so, the trial went.
“I developed an even greater appreciation for Judge Lawson when I got here on the federal bench and saw him exercise leadership skills and was a key adviser to all the chief judges that I have seen here on the bench,” Drain remarked.
“Moreover, his wisdom, advice, and helpfulness is extended to all members of our bench and we all rely on him.”
Drain said he is similarly indebted to Judge Borman, who was appointed to the federal bench in 1994 after serving as chief of the FDO for 15 years.
“He was a very fair, helpful, and progressive person to work with,” Drain said of Borman, who also created the HOPE program that helps those who have served lengthy federal sentences re-enter society in as seamless a way as possible.
“HOPE is also an acronym which represents ‘Helping Offenders Progressively Excel,’” Drain indicated. “It is a very intensive supervised release program and Judge Borman invited me to be a part of that program with him and the team that’s involved in it. We help the participants successfully complete their term of supervised release.”
Drain’s desire to do good was strongly influenced by his parents, Vera and Frank, Alabama natives who were raised in the Jim Crow south where racial bigotry was a fact of life. After meeting in college, the couple married and eventually migrated to Michigan, where Drain’s father landed a skilled trades job with Ford Motor Co. at its massive Rouge Plant. His mother was a seamstress for the Hughes-Hatcher-Suffrin clothing store in Detroit, a job that offered a special benefit for the aspiring lawyer in the family.
“My mom monogrammed some of my shirts with the label, ‘Individually Made for Gershwin Drain,’” he said with a grin. “As a result, I was looking better than I deserved to look.”
In college at Western Michigan University, Drain had the look of budding gridiron star, playing defensive back for the Broncos. A starter during his junior and senior years, Drain drew praise for his tackling ability, even when facing the likes of such future NFL stars as Duane Thomas and “Mercury” Morris.
College, he noted, offered a far greater benefit than being on a football scholarship. It also afforded him the opportunity to meet and marry “my wonderful wife and partner, Meredith, who has been an incredible support throughout the years,” said Drain.
“In a couple of months, we will celebrate our 57th wedding anniversary. You need to know that we got married when we were 10 years old,” he said to a roar of laughter.
“Honey, I am grateful for your love and support . . . The sacrifices that you made so that I could devote myself to this judicial calling are sacrifices I will never forget.”
Nor will the couple’s two daughters, Shelley and Shannon, who each at the October 3 ceremony shared special reflections about their father.
“For as long as I can remember, my dad has been involved in ministries,” said Shelley, an attorney with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. “When I was younger, he was involved in prison ministries. . . Then he got involved in youth ministries. He explained to me that he was sharing his faith in God and trying to be a mentor and counsel young people that are incarcerated.
“My dad is the kind of man who gives of his time, his heart, and his energy to people who need hope, encouragement, and sometimes someone to just believe in them,” Shelley declared. “I asked him recently what he wanted to do if he actually ever decided to retire one day . . . He told me that first of all he’s not retiring anytime soon, but if and when he does, that will just give him more time to be involved in ministries.”
Shannon, associate general counsel for the Investment Company Institute, took a trip back in time in reflecting on her father’s rise to the federal bench, from the sting of an early election setback for a seat on the 36th District Court to the unbridled joy in 2011 of being nominated by President Barack Obama for an opening on the federal court in Detroit.
“Of course, the next big hurdle is that he needed to be confirmed by the Senate, which includes a Senate committee hearing and then a vote by the full Senate,” Shannon related. “In his Senate hearing, we learned from the very harsh questioning that some Senators had labeled him as ‘controversial.’ Which, to those of us who know him well, seems hilarious. He may be the least controversial person I know. Always doing things by the book.
“And in part, because of that ‘controversial’ label, his nomination just sat there, for months on end, not being put up for a vote,” Shannon recalled. “I really cannot convey the roller coaster that this process took us on . . . And then one day right before they began this long August recess, with no notice to us, the Senate held the vote and he squeaked through. It was a nail-biter, but he made it and became a federal judge.”
The Senate confirmation, Shannon said, was part of a story that helped demonstrate “some of the lessons I’ve learned by watching my dad,” lessons that she has taken to heart:
• “Don’t count your chickens BEFORE they hatch.
• BUT, DO work hard for what you want. Set big goals and believe that you can achieve them.
• “Don’t worry about what other people say or think about you, and don’t let other people’s opinions limit your goals.
• “Have faith and never lose hope.”
All well-chosen words from a man whose portrait now cements his presence among the pillars of the federal judiciary in the Eastern District of Michigan, a place where he continues to serve with the highest ideals of justice and equality in mind.
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