With a sense of excitement and a sense of humor, 52-2 District Judge Kelley Kostin is adjusting to her new position.
‘I absolutely love the job,? she said. ‘It’s been a whirlwind, but amazingly very smooth.?
Kostin, elected to the post last November, spent one day on the bench in January before being ‘shipped off? to a week-long judge’s orientation seminar in Lansing.
‘They send you to judge’s school so you can learn how to put on your robe and pound the gavel,? she said with a smile, but she also pointed to several large looseleaf notebooks which came from the seminar.
Veteran judges tend to recite procedures from memory, but Kostin admits she’s not there quite yet.
‘This is definitely a learning process,? Kostin said, especially in guaranteeing a defendant’s rights. That is becoming a greater challenge for those with little education or those in the growing Hispanic population. ‘You want to make sure all of their rights have been completely explained. You want to be comfortable that they understand their rights.?
Kostin, who won election in her second attempt, has good experience as a magistrate in 52-3 District Court in Rochester, where she assisted with a variety of minor hearings.
‘It’s very different sitting behind the bench,? she said, especially since the more detailed proceedings allow her to get to know some of the defendants. ‘You’re getting a real opportunity to do some good, and to change a person’s life.?
Kostin’s background also includes years of working in her husband’s Clarkston law firm. She can argue both sides of the case concerning the preparation that gave her for being a judge.
‘The hardest part was weaning myself from private practice to government practice,? she said, with the burden to transfer cases either to her husband or other attorneys. ‘It was very difficult for me to stop worrying about my clients.?
Since taking the bench, Kostin has several cases in which she has had to offer to recuse herself because of relationships. Her opponent in the general election, Larence Kozma, represented a defendant in a sentencing transferred from former judge Michael Batchik. Kostin gave Kozma the opportunity to protest, but he did not.
‘He said, ‘Are we going to have to do this every time I come before you?? Unfortunately, probably,? she said.
In conversation with fellow Judge Dana Fortinberry, Kostin quickly learned that the district court is very much a community court.
‘Because we both have been involved in civic affairs, there’s not a day that goes by when someone comes to court that I know them or know of them,? she said. ‘If it’s at the point where you can’t be fair, you must disclose that.?
Kostin’s background in private practice helps her sympathize with attorneys? busy schedules, but she said she also knows a delaying tactic when she sees one.
‘I was out there. I know all the little tricks, and they’re not going to work with me.?
Case load is a big issue in the courts, however. Kostin is grateful for her new staff, secretary-court reporter Ann-Marie McCafferty and court clerk Jeffrey Allsteadt, and for those on the district court and probation department staffs. There have been a lot of changes in Clarkston District Court in the past few years, and Kostin has no illusions about making everything better instantly.
‘I’m still getting my feet wet,? she said. ‘I’m not going to try to implement a million changes.?
Meanwhile, Kostin plans to continue her community involvement. A Clarkston Optimist since 1996, she is helping organize the club’s sixth annual oratorical contest. Her visibility as a judge means more requests for her time and service in the community.
‘A day doesn’t come by that I’m not invited to some function or important community event,? she said. ‘I just have to sort through those and determine which I can reasonably do. If there’s something that has to do with youth, I’m there.?
Kostin gives Fortinberry credit for getting Clarkston schools involved in the Courts in Schools project. Kostin hopes to reach out to other schools in the 52nd District to promote that involvement, and she continues her commitment to the special sobriety court.
The new judge has learned something else in her new role as a public servant.
‘I have learned there’s a difference between government time and real time,? she said. In private practice, she was used to calling someone immediately to fix a broken printer. Now there are procedures involving separate government departments and work orders.
In another example, Kostin ordered furniture for her chambers in January, but in late March is still using furniture belonging to retired judge Gerald McNally.
Those are perhaps minor issues, because Kostin admits she still is not accustomed to her new title.
‘I was making some copies the other day and I heard, ‘Goodbye, Judge,? and I’m thinking, ‘Who’s that person talking to???
A March 23 investiture ceremony at the Oakland County Commissioners Auditorium may help her in that regard. Colleagues from the bench were joined by local and state politicians for her formal swearing-in ceremony, which was followed by a reception at the Oakhurst Golf and Country Club.
Judge Kostin took the oath of office with one hand resting on a Bible held by her son, Shay. Husband Robert Kostin assisted her in donning her judicial robe. In her remarks, Judge Kostin thanked her family and her political supporters for bringing her dream to reality.