Before her election to the Oakland County Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in 2022, Amanda J. Shelton practiced law for 18 years. A 2004 graduate of Wayne State University Law School, she worked in the commercial litigation group at Pepper Hamilton for seven years. During that time, she and her wife had two kids. In 2011, she and her best friend, Mary Deon, started a boutique litigation firm, Shelton & Deon Law Group, where for the next 11 years, Shelton represented small to mid-sized businesses in court and built a robust family law practice, which included a specialty in representing non-biological parents in same-sex couples arguing for custody and parenting time.
Shelton took the bench in January 2023, becoming the first openly lesbian woman elected to the Oakland County Circuit Court.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: What led you to become a judge?
AJS: There is very little LGBTQ representation on the bench statewide. We needed somebody on the bench who not only had a diverse life perspective, but also had a long and diverse legal experience. I campaigned and maintained my practice all of 2022. It was a very busy year, but I was fortunate to be elected to the Oakland County Circuit Court and took the bench on January 3, 2023.
I did not hide who I was or who my family was when I campaigned. There was a real question on whether an openly lesbian candidate could win in this county. And I’m here to tell you, “Yes, you can.” It was a whole lot of work, but I really enjoyed being able to speak with lots and lots of Oakland County voters, and explaining why we select to do this work is incredibly important.
Q. Tell us a bit about your experience as a judge and how your identity has impacted your practice.
AJS: So far, my experience as a judge has been very satisfying and meaningful to me and, hopefully, to the litigants and attorneys who have passed through my courtroom. When you become a judge, you bring your life and work experience with you. I think it’s important that the overall makeup of the judiciary reflects the community it serves. For me, it was critical that people from historically marginalized communities see themselves reflected somewhere among the various judges who serve them. I think it’s important that people appearing in court, especially mine, know they will be heard for what they have to say and not prejudged because of who they are or how they appear. So far, that seems to really resonate with folks, and my staff and I work hard to make it happen every day. Is it perfect every day? No, but we try.
I think my experience as a litigator, a family law practitioner, a gay kid who grew up in Idaho, [and] a parent and spouse helped make me an empathetic and compassionate judge. I try to meet people where they are. It is intimidating for anybody — even folks who are in law school or are practicing attorneys — to walk into a courtroom. But our job, especially as family court judges, is to help people in crisis to get to the other side of it so they can be the parents they need to be for their kids and move on with their lives.
Anything we can do to make the process a little less threatening, a little less scary, and help people get through a traumatic time in their lives is our focus.
Q. As a judge, or even as an attorney before, what LGBTQ+ legal issues have you witnessed?
AJS: It’s an exciting time to be a judge. I’ve worked on LGBTQ issues my entire career. I litigated with the ACLU in 2004 when the marriage amendment to the Michigan Constitution passed. It not only prohibited same-sex marriage in Michigan but prohibited any legal same-sex marriage done elsewhere from being recognized in Michigan. We litigated that case up to the Michigan Supreme Court and, unfortunately, lost there. However, that case paved the way for the LGBTQ civil rights cases that came after it. The marriage equality issue was ultimately appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which resulted in marriage equality becoming the law of the land. All of those cases, even when unsuccessful, helped lay the groundwork for success.
It’s rewarding to see those things come to fruition now that I’m on the bench. I have same-sex divorce litigants and same-sex parents come before me routinely, and they’re treated just like everybody else. Before marriage equality, the legal landscape in Michigan was very uncertain.
It also warms my heart to see greater understanding and acceptance for transgender people engaged in the legal process. Litigants are always a little bit nervous when they come to court, but the experience can be especially challenging for people who identify as trans — and that shouldn’t be the case. I have the pride flag visible in my Zoom courtroom and my physical courtroom. My staff uses preferred pronouns for everyone to indicate to people, “You are welcome here as you are, and you will be heard here.” When my colleagues see that I’m doing simple things like putting my pronouns in my Zoom identifications and email signature block, they’re like, “Oh, yeah, I’ll do that,” and it grows from there.
Q. An amendment to the Michigan Court Rule 1.109 requires courts to use the name, honorific, and pronouns before the court. What changes have you noticed since its enactment?
AJS: I can only speak from my own experience, but I find that most of my colleagues really want to be respectful of litigants and the attorneys who appear before them but may not have the vocabulary or the comfort level to do that. I get questions from colleagues on how to address transgender litigants, [and] I encourage judges to simply ask, “How would you like me to refer to you today?” That usually goes a long way toward putting everybody at ease. When there’s a name change in front of you for a transgender person, you signal to them that you’re not going to call them by their “dead name.” Using the phrase “dead name” helps communicate to the litigant, “Hey, we’re good here. We’re going to take care of you.”
Certainly, there were scare tactics employed during the debate on the amended court rule. I had a colleague outside of my county say, “People are going to come in and they’re going to require us to call them all sorts of things.” That position struck me as unrealistic and unfairly dismissive of the very real concerns which motivated the rule change in the first place. I certainly haven’t seen that alleged concern play out in my courtroom, and none of my colleagues seem to be having a hard time with the new rules either. Our job as jurists is to serve the people, and that means all the people, not just the people you’re predisposed to be comfortable with.
Q. Going back in time a bit, you founded the Gay and Lesbian Law Caucus at Wayne State Law (the group is now known as OUTlaws). What was it like being a law student at that time?
AJS: I started law school in 2001 at Wayne State. I was surprised that there was not an LGBTQ presence. Here we are in an urban university in the year 2001, and there was no LGBTQ presence at the law school. For a little bit, it was me sitting in a room by myself. I had some posters up, but it was just me.
Eventually, people came. Katie Strickfaden, who is a U-M undergrad alum and now the chief operating officer of Lakeshore Legal Aid, was at Wayne State Law at the time. I saw her in the hallway, and I did not know her yet, but I paused and said, “Hey, do you know you need to be at my meeting?” It was a funny and kind of an awkward conversation, but we wound up doing a lot of good work together, and the [group] became one of the most active on campus. It’s rewarding to see how far the students have come at Wayne State Law regarding LGBTQ+ issues.
I also ran for the Student Board of Governors in my third year of law school. I was the first openly gay person to run for the presidency and win. During that campaign, there was a bit of pushback from my opponent because he was trying to weaponize my identity. That strategy backfired. Representing law students and the school itself was a very rewarding experience.
Q. What advice do you have for LGBTQ+ law students or other young people who are thinking about clerking or aspiring to be a judge?
AJS: I’m a big proponent of being out, but I also recognize that I can say that from a place of privilege as a white woman — and now as a middle-aged white woman.
When I was in law school, I had well-meaning professors who said, “Amanda, you cannot put on your resume that you were president of the Gay and Lesbian Law Caucus. You could get into one of these ‘silk stocking’ law firms, and then once you get there, maybe you can come out.” But I was not going to turn Kay into Ken. I was not going to invent a boyfriend to come with me to events. It was important for me to be out, so I disregarded my professors’ advice. At least I’d be honest and authentic with anyone thinking of hiring me.
Fortunately, it has really worked out for me. Now, would that work out for everybody? Not necessarily. It set me apart in on-campus interviews. It also projected to potential employers that I was comfortable in my own skin. I am sure I missed out on opportunities because of that disclosure, but I didn’t want those opportunities anyway. I don’t have any lawyers or judges in my family. I grew up poor in a single-mom household. I’d rather not have an opportunity than pretend to be somebody that I’m not in order to get an opportunity.
Twenty years down the road, it appears large law firms in particular have gotten the memo that it’s important to be inclusive. Whether that’s really happening is an open question. I always encourage law students to look at the partner ranks of prospective employers to see if they illustrate the firm’s stated commitment to diversity. That can tell you a lot about a firm’s culture.
Q. Michigan elects its judges as opposed to appointing them. What are the advantages and disadvantages to electing judges?
AJS: I think people are starting to realize the important role that judges play. All you have to do is listen to the news for 15 minutes and you’ll hear, “Judge so-and-so from whatever court issued an opinion.” For democracy to work, it’s important for people to understand that although judicial elections in Michigan are nonpartisan, meaning you don’t run under a party, the folks who are making decisions matter once the election is over.
It’s also important to understand that judges move to different courts. They might start out in district court or circuit court, and then they might go up to the Court of Appeals or get appointed or run for the Supreme Court. So, it’s incredibly important that people know to flip their ballot over and go to the nonpartisan section and figure out who the judicial candidates are. Trial court judges are the jurists with the most contact with community members. It is vital for a functioning democracy to have the best people on the bench from the trial courts to the Supreme Court, and voters need to do their homework before voting to ensure that happens.
Q. Can there be more LGBTQ+ representation at the appellate level?
AJS: Those who want changes at a higher level need to become engaged and organize behind candidates they feel are best suited to serve. I’m certainly grateful so many people felt that way about me. We still have a lot of work to do in our community to be better supporters of folks running for public office and those who would like to pursue higher levels of public office. We need to make sure that people from marginalized communities — and not just LGBTQ+ people — are getting opportunities to run for office and are properly supported. If folks want to address the many challenges remaining in our community, they must make sure they have a seat at the table.
Q. How do you manage mental health and burnout when faced with handling all these different cases?
AJS: I think third-party trauma is a real thing. Part of my docket is the abuse and neglect docket, and those are some very tough cases. After a tough case, it can be hard to leave the emotional baggage at the job and be fully present at home. Fortunately, my wife is super supportive. We’ve been together for 25 years. She has been through all my career ups and downs, including law school and studying for the bar. She’s a great person to decompress with. I’ve gotten good — maybe too good — at compartmentalizing. Once I make a decision, I move on. You have to do that, or the size of the docket will destroy your mental health if you are constantly second-guessing your decisions.
My staff is very good at keeping my docket in check and helping me avoid burnout. Regardless of how heavy and hectic a day on the bench is, I can always count on them to lighten the mood while keeping me on track. Also, get a hot tub and a dog — preferably a rescue! A hot soak and time with my emotional support beagle is my go-to on tough days.