Candidates for election to the judicial position at the 34th District District Court will be on the ballot in Belleville, Romulus, Sumpter and Van Buren Tuesday. The names of the top two vote getters will then appear on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot.
Vying for the position at the court is incumbent David M. Parrott who is being challenged by Alexandria Taylor, Robet P. Coutts, John R. Day and Lisa Martin, The 34th District Court handles cases from Belleville, Van Buren, Romulus and Sumpter Township along with out-county arraignments from Wayne County.
Parrott, the incumbent is completing his 18th year at the court. The 60-year-old Van Buren Township resident was elected in 2002, 2006 and 2014. He earned his Juris Doctorate in 1985 from Wayne State University Law School and his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.
Coutts is a 21-year resident of the area and currently resides in Van Buren Township He has a five-star rating with avvo.com and has practiced law for 30 years after earning his Juris Doctor degree at the University of Toledo College of Law and his bachelors degree at Eastern Michigan University. He formerly served on the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education. This is his second bid for elections to the court.
Day, 65, is a long-time resident of New Boston with a law practice in Belleville. He earned his law degree, cum laude, at the University of Detroit School of Law following his bachelor of arts degree with high honors at Michigan State University.
Day has served as the Belleville city attorney, the Belleville prosecutor and the Belleville Area District Library attorney.
Martin, 46, has been a resident of Van Buren Township for 13 years. She earned her bachelor's degree form Harvard University and he law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. She was appointed as an attorney magistrate at the 34th District Court in May of 2018 where she served until February of this year. This is her second bid for election to the judicial bench.
Taylor, 39, is a resident of Romulus and has been a resident of the court jurisdiction her entire life. She is the manager of Taylor Law Firm and adjunct professor at University of Detroit Mercy Law School.
She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit School of Law, a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Michigan State University and a master of business administration from Eastern Michigan University.
The top two candidates will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot vying for the 6-year term on the judicial bench.
