Chaldean News J
DETROIT
■
POIM building
111
T H E
igloo community
MOM
INITIATIVE
il
PRESENTING SPONSOR
Bank of America.
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Diane D'Agostini
Marc Barron
Kimberly Small
WAY N E STATE
UNIVERSITY
Chaldeans and Jews serve side-by-side
As one of the first Chaldeans in
Metro Detroit to break into pub-
lic service, Diane D'Agostini fo-
cuses on keeping her community
safe in her role as a 48th District
Court judge in Oakland County
"I saw more members of the
Chaldean community robbed
and murdered at their place of
business. I wanted to help vic-
tims of crime and be their voice,"
D'Agostini explains.
She serves alongside Judg-
es Marc Barron and Kimberly
Small, both Jewish. They handle
cases from Bloomfield Town-
ship, West Bloomfield, Bloom-
field Hills, Keego Harbor, Or-
chard Lake Village, Sylvan Lake
and Birmingham. The court's
bench offers a snapshot of the
population they serve.
"There is a large percentage
in this district of both Jewish
and Chaldean individuals, and I
think it's given us perspective to
really understand some of the dy-
namics that are involved in both
communities," says D'Agostini of
the mix on the bench. "You don't
need to be of an ethnic group to
understand it, but we may un-
derstand a bit better because of
the community aspect."
Her community supported
D'Agostini while running for of-
fice, culminating in an election-
night victory and a tray of pop-
sidles being sent by a voter she
connected with while campaign-
ing. "One couple invited me
into their house, and we talked
about both communities while
reviewing my qualifications. The
husband even offered me a pop-
sicle," D'Agostini recalls.
Ultimately, D'Agostini feels,
the victory uplifts more than one
person. "When I succeeded, the
Chaldean community felt joy, not
just. me," she explains. "The Chal-
dean community realized how
significant it was to vote and be
involved in the political process.
It's important for all groups to be
a part of the process."
– Justin Fisette
meijer
DETROIT MEDICAL CENTER
SILVER. SPONSORS
CO - Unty-
Rnbert
Ficano
Vi,ter
Kuratti,,
Lawrence
'Tech
ig I
l
COLLEGE
1 OF BUSINESS
QEAR90RA
mission appointments and ultimately to a federal judge-
ship — "catching the brass ring," as Cohn describes
it. He still hears cases at U.S. District Court in Detroit
— where colleagues include Chief Judge Gerald Rosen,
Paul D. Borman, Nancy Edmunds, Bernard Friedman
and Stewart Newblatt, and where Jewish predecessors
include Lawrence Gubow (1968-78) and Theodore
Levin (1946-70). A new generation of Jewish judges
will include Mark Goldsmith, to be sworn in later this
month. Another Jewish Detroiter, Helene White, cur-
rently serves on the region's U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati.
"In the Jewish community, it seemed natural to be ac-
tive" in community service, says Cohn, a past president
of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit who was
nominated to his lifetime judgeship by President Jimmy
Carter in May 1979. "Some people naturally gravitate to-
ward political and social activity" he adds. "The effort you
extend to support yourself isn't really sufficient to satisfy
all your needs. . . . Man does not live on bread alone."
1E3
Bloomfield Hills Schools
Alan Stamm and Justin Fisette are writers for
Tanner Friedman, a marketing communications
firm in Farmington Hills.
November 4 • 2010
29