Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
[Music] do [Music] do [Music] [Music] good morning good afternoon good evening wherever you are in the world it’s Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman with Relationship Matters. Now you know at the beginning of every episode I get on my soapbox. It’s the same soapbox and what is this soapbox? It concerns COVID-19 and the vaccine. Have you had your vaccine? Now I know that there are a lot of you, or a few of you anyway, out in my audience who have not taken that shot, but you must take the vaccine. The only way we’re going to get rid of COVID-19 is if we’re all vaccinated. Now I’ve had both of mine and since I am a senior citizen, I am waiting for my booster. And why did I get it? You know what? Number one, I don’t want to get COVID-19, but I don’t want to give it to anyone else. I don’t want to give it to anyone’s child. I don’t want to give it to anyone in my family. And so when you think about whether or not you want to get it, think about the fact that you could be a carrier. You could get it and don’t have any symptoms and give it to someone, and you give it to someone and they may be extremely, extremely ill. But if you notice when they have people on TV and they have caught it and they were unvaccinated, what is it they say? Oh, I wish I had gotten it. Everyone really should get it. So I’m telling you, get the vaccine. Forget all of these whatever things that you hear about it, how they’re implanting discs in you and they can track you. Well guess what? They track you anyway if you have a cell phone. They know exactly where you are. You got to remember there’s a satellite up in that sky and it could zoom in on you anytime, anywhere, any place, anyhow. So anyway, I’m going to get off my soapbox, but that’s my soapbox. My soapbox: get the shot. Now let’s go on with the episode. Tonight I am really, really excited about my guest. Let me tell you about him. He was homegrown in Chicago in the All-Guild Gardens housing project, one of 12 children born to Mrs. Geraldine Stuttley. His name is Judge Michael W. Stuttley. He is the honorable retired judge. So let me tell you all about him. All righty now, he was educated at Carver Elementary, upper grades, and high school. During his early academic years, he matriculated from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois, and in three years he got his BS in Business Administration. Later, he got his Juris Doctorate degree from the John Marshall Law School of Chicago. Now he has always been an advocate for the voiceless. His trial and legal experiences include administrative law, criminal defense, family law, personal injury, municipal and school board law, real estate transactions and development, probate, taxation, and juvenile law. He’s heavy. For over 22 years, he served as a judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County, and for 18 years he served in juvenile court. Now as the presiding judge of the juvenile court in the Sixth Municipal District, he worked to meet the needs of offenders, victims, and all residents so that our communities would be enhanced rather than torn apart by the crimes of our youth. And you know we really, really, really need that today. Now Judge Stuttley stands by very basic principles that have worked. This is a quote: “If offenders realize there is a victim that has been impacted by their actions, it is my hope that the offender will take accountability for their actions and attempt to right their wrong. If you’re willing to make amends for what you’ve done, we have the tools to assist you,” says Judge Stuttley. He has put a lot of different programs in place, and his commitment to his profession and community has been recognized and honored with over 350 awards and honors for his volunteerism and community service. Now presently, he serves on the board of numerous civic and professional organizations, including many not-for-profit youth organizations. He’s a father and a grandfather who has been residing in South Suburbia for over 25 years. And when I say All-Guild Gardens, I’m going to say this: the A.G. and we are A.G. for life because I grew up in All-Guild Gardens. Now let’s just get a little bit more information about Judge Stuttley. [Music] [Music] [Music] uh [Music] [Music] [Music]

Michael W. Stuttley
Well hello, retired honorable judge attorney, I gotta put all out, Michael W. Stuttley. How are you?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I am blessed by the best, thanks.

Michael W. Stuttley
All righty now, it’s so wonderful to have you on my show. It’s an honor.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well thank you for inviting me. Oh well, you know I had to invite you because you are the epitome of what men, young men, older men can transition to in life. And you know what? We’re going to talk about you in your life, and we’re going to talk about what I want to talk about is your relationships from the time you were a little kid all the way up to now. And you’re also going to talk about your book, which I have right here. I see and I’ve read it from cover to cover. And way too many people, look how thick this book is! You are a very prolific writer. I want to start with something that really made me want to have you as a guest on Relationship Matters, and this is an excerpt from the beginning of your book. And I’m just going to read it, just a little bit of it, just a short paragraph. And it’s about a young man that came to you that was in your courtroom by the name of Snooki. And it says here, “After they left the chamber, the judge re-read the letter, which I want you to tell us about the letter, and thought about the conversation with Snooki. As the judge sits back in his chair, he begins to think that he has just looked through the mirror of his life.” And I just thought that was so profound. So out, and that’s in the beginning of the book. So this is what we want to talk about. We want to talk about your life.

Michael W. Stuttley
All right, yes. So first of all, who was Snooki?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, Snooki was a young black young man who came before me, and DCFS had brought him in because his grandmother had disciplined him, corporate punishment, and they were looking to take him from his grandmother. So when he came to the chambers, his DCFS caseworker asked me would I take the time to talk to him. He had wrote a letter saying that he never believed no judges come from All-Guild Gardens. That ain’t true. And we talked. And what impressed me about Snooki was he was A’s and B’s in his classes, but he stayed in trouble all of the time, and grandmother just went upside that head. So DCFS is in my court and they’re going to take him from the grandmother. And I explained to them on the record, he’s not leaving his grandmother’s house, number one. Number two, grandmother, you got my permission if he gets out of hand, you get that butt.

Michael W. Stuttley
DCFS, you can’t say that. I said yes, I can. As long as he’s in my jurisdiction, he’s going to be with his grandmother. You know, it’s just no way she can raise him and cannot discipline him. When I commit a kid, for instance, to the Department of Corrections, I have to make a finding that the parents have failed to protect, educate, and discipline this minor. Now I have to make that finding on the record, but you’ve already handcuffed the hands of many parents where they can’t discipline the kids. It didn’t work in my courtroom. But he reminded me so much of myself because like Snooki, I was all A’s and B’s or E’s and G’s when we came up, but I stayed in trouble. I was in trouble from eight o’clock in the morning until twelve o’clock at night until certain things happened in my life, and it just turned it around.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, all right. So that’s when you talk about the mirror. Now let’s start from the very, very beginning.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So now, were you born in Chicago?

Michael W. Stuttley
Yes, I was born in Chicago on the South Side, 3426 South Parkway.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, so South Parkway, is that King Drive now?

Michael W. Stuttley
It’s King Drive now. Before it was South Parkway, it was Grand Boulevard, then it went to South Park, and then to King Drive. Okay, that’s where I was initially born.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, and so you have brothers and sisters?

Michael W. Stuttley
Yes, I’m one of 12. My mother had, you say that, nine boys and three girls.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And so where were you in that?

Michael W. Stuttley
I was number eight.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, okay. And how long did you all live? Because I know we’re going to get into All-Guild Gardens, so how long did you live on 34th Street before you all moved into the Gardens?

Michael W. Stuttley
34th Street for about four years of my life.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, and then we moved up to 55th in Kambar, and before the summer was over, we moved to All-Guild in June of ’56.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And so you were how old then?

Michael W. Stuttley
I was five.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, so you started in kindergarten?

Michael W. Stuttley
No, I started kindergarten at Race School. When I came to the Gardens, I was going into first grade.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So is that when you started being in trouble all the time, in first grade?

Michael W. Stuttley
No, I was in trouble in kindergarten. They let me out for recess, I was gone.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Where did you go?

Michael W. Stuttley
I told them I didn’t need them to come to school. My big brothers and sisters can teach me all the things I need to know until one day I left Race School and my mother met me as I was walking down 55th Street window shopping.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Wait, better at five years old?

Michael W. Stuttley
Yeah, okay. She got me back to that school, and you know what she did? So I did not leave school again. I don’t think I did school a day after that throughout high school.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, so now that they got you in school, I want to talk about your relationships. Now, did you start hanging around with different boys?

Michael W. Stuttley
Yes, so how was your school life? You know, I’m trying to get to really, I want to get all the way to where you are now and actually what shaped your life.

Michael W. Stuttley
Well, it was so much, and a lot of the friends, probably the first friend that I met in A.G. was Dwight Oliver.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, and then Dwight was very close. Our relationship lasted up until his death actually. But Dwight, Talib, Donnie Maxie, Robert Hornsby, Robert Harris, Henry Clay, Benny Gaines, Bobo Thomas. I mean so many that I’ve had a relationship with, and those relationships went on for years and years. A lot of them have relocated to different parts of the country, and we still get together when they come in town. So that’s it. I mean, I don’t know of another community that shares the type of relationship that we share with each other in A.G.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, were they good influences on your life?

Michael W. Stuttley
It was positive. I mean, some was good, some was bad. Okay, someone was a member of the 11-30 D like I was.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
What’s 11-30 D?

Michael W. Stuttley
11-30 D was a branch of the Disciples.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Wait a minute, for those who are out there who are not from the Chicago area, the Disciples was a notorious gang.

Michael W. Stuttley
But they was like family. Okay, one of the things that I respected David Boxdale, who was the head of the Disciples, I could be part of the family, but he wouldn’t let me get involved with anything. When they was off to do something, he said, “Stuttley, you go home.”

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, you’re not coming with us? You go home.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, you know, so he was a positive influence. I was able to walk 63rd Street being from All-Guild because of David Boxdale.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, so 63rd Street was what? A gangbanger game territory?

Michael W. Stuttley
Where I had to walk in order to get to my girlfriend’s house, who was from Argyle. She lived on 64th and Carpenter.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, so I had to get traveling grace from the Dan Ryan to her house and back. You know, David provided that.

Michael W. Stuttley
Oh, okay. Now that’s one I don’t remember seeing here, reading that in your book. Did you hear that? Is it in there?

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, 11-30 D is where I talk about Bobo and Newton and Floyd Evans and William Smith, Butchie. No, it’s in there.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, so now you were in high school when you were part of the Disciples. So that gang, or was that in elementary school?

Michael W. Stuttley
Elementary school going into high school. I had probably two sets of influence. I had the guys who were part of gangs, then I had the scholars, the Elsa Lawrence, the Donnie Maxons, the Robert Hornsby, who we competed against academically. You know, it was a positive influence.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, so I was a little bit involved with both worlds, I guess you could say.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, and so now you said you were getting in trouble all of your life. So now when you were in elementary, well you told me what you did in kindergarten. And so through elementary school, so what about in high school?

Michael W. Stuttley
In high school, you probably read it in the book, I was in the woodshop class.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, and standing on top of the desk, the tables flying in the air. And who walks through the door? Coach Larry Hawkins.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So were you on the team?

Michael W. Stuttley
I was the manager of the basketball team.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Right, so you were standing on a desk flying through the air?

Michael W. Stuttley
Yeah, why? I said, “Dr. Fortman, I can’t tell you why. I just was getting, you know, just something to do.” And I never would expect Coach Hawkins to be, because this is on the second floor on the elementary side of the building, and Norman Hawkins did not leave the gym.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, but lo and behold, he walks in, right? And I’m in the midst of my feet.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And so what happened? Did he kick you off the team?

Michael W. Stuttley
Well, he says, “Sonny, what are you doing?” And I couldn’t say anything. He said, “Well, when you come to practice this afternoon, we need to discuss that.” So I came to practice and figured he must have forgot because he ain’t saying nothing. And then right before practice was over, he says, “Sonny, I’m confused. I thought I stated to you that we needed to have a discussion.”

Michael W. Stuttley
So he ordered me out of the gym, and that was the first time. And he left me back, and he told me, “Sonny, let me explain them to you. This time you’re on your mother’s time. The next time I’m gonna wipe my hands of you.”

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And was there a next time?

Michael W. Stuttley
I got in trouble again, and this time he told all the ball players, “Stay away from that Mike Stuttley.” You know how Larry felt. He didn’t want you running around the building with females hanging on you and everything, and I’m at a girl’s locker, got her, I guess you would say, covered in the locker. And who walks up?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So was he a major influence on your life?

Michael W. Stuttley
He was the bridge that brought me over because the things that he was trying to teach me that I resisted, I learned later on in life. It wasn’t important at that point. The girls are going to be there, ain’t no hurry. You need to concentrate on certain other things right now, but I couldn’t see it then.

Michael W. Stuttley
And I said to myself right when I was getting ready to go off to college, he wanted to meet with me, and he said, “Stuttley, I hear you’re going to Northern Illinois University.” And I said, “That’s right.” He said, “Well, you got to understand, son, if you go up there and do a good job, I can get 10, 20 more kids in that school.”

Michael W. Stuttley
And I’m saying to myself, “You exit me to do something? That’s the way you kicked me out?” He said, “But if you go up there and act a fool, which I know you can, I’m gonna snatch your butt out of there.” I could not believe it. How you gonna snatch me out and you didn’t put me in there? But I learned from those experiences that if I ever get a chance to get back in his good graces, I would know better.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, and later on in life, I did.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So we’ve gone from you as a bad boy, so to speak, a troublemaker.

Michael W. Stuttley
Yes, okay.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Through elementary school, through high school. So now when you got to college, is that when you decided you would, you know, so is Larry Hawkins the one, like you said, it was a change? So he’s the one that really put you on the right track, so to speak?

Michael W. Stuttley
Pretty much. It wasn’t him, but it was his influence. Okay, show you for instance, when I got to Northern, I went in to see the financial aid director to thank him for my financial aid, and Dr. Bill Herman said to me, “You’re Michael Stuttley, you’re from Carver. You’re one of Larry Hawkins’ boys, aren’t you?” Of course, I’m not going to say no. He said, “Do you have enough money for college?” And I said, “Yeah, I have all that I need.” And he said, “No, you never have enough money. You want Hawkins’ boys? I got another scholarship for you.”

Michael W. Stuttley
So just the influence that Larry Hawkins had, and right then and there, Bill Herman gave me the Northern Illinois Gas Scholarship, which was a guaranteed scholarship for four years. And at that time, it paid a thousand dollars a year, which was substantial at a state school.

Michael W. Stuttley
But it was only because of Larry Hawkins, even though I wasn’t his boy at the time, because I claimed to be his boy, I got that scholarship.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, okay. All right, and you know it’s so important [Applause] for young men to have someone to turn their life around because when you think about it, Mike, you could have gone a totally different way, you know what I mean?

Michael W. Stuttley
Yeah, when you think about it, and that’s what a lot of young men need today.

Michael W. Stuttley
And even though I did all those things, that’s why the book has the title that it has, because throughout my life, God has ordered my steps.

Michael W. Stuttley
You know, now I resisted, but you come right back to it, you know, and I had to realize that. And once I realized that, I accept the fact that I don’t want to do anything in life unless God has ordered it.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, and that has been the key to my success, I believe.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So what made you decide to go into law?

Michael W. Stuttley
I wasn’t interested in law. Okay, matter of fact, I was, when I left Northern, my basketball coach there introduced me to a friend of his who was the president of Jones Class Rings, and he was looking for a black salesman for the Chicagoland area. So I was selling high school class rings. I started with her Jones, and after a year, I went with Jostens, gave me a franchise.

Michael W. Stuttley
And then about four, four or five years into the franchise, my play brother came to me and said, “I’m getting ready to go to law school. Come go with me.” But that’s how I went to law school. After one semester, he quit, and I just refused to quit something that I started.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, and that’s right. And even after I came out of law school, I didn’t practice law. I went to work at IBM as an engineer. I wasn’t interested in law.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, didn’t think I would like it, and I learned that corporate America wasn’t for me. I left IBM and went to Olive Harvey Junior College as the programmer analyst and even administrator.

Michael W. Stuttley
And somebody said, “Well, you don’t have to be at work until two o’clock in the afternoon. Why don’t you just practice? Don’t you just try law?” Like the fourth minute, I tried it and just fell in love. It was my niche.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, that’s my niche.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So if you can say this, so was that the event that steered you into wanting to go into the criminal justice system? Because you said try it.

Michael W. Stuttley
No, I wasn’t interested in the criminal justice system.

Michael W. Stuttley
You know, I was more interested in real estate law, okay, business law, probate law, things of that sort. I had no interest in the criminal justice system. That’s a whole different subject, believe me.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, so we, I got to take a quick break, and when we come back, I want to talk about you in the criminal justice system and why you chose the juvenile part of the system.

Michael W. Stuttley
So have some time because it’s a story.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, okay. Well, let me hurry up. Okay, we’ll be right back.

[Music]

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
From right to left and every angle in between, know what I mean? In this day and age, so many seem like they lost inside a world and held captive in a dream. A glimpse of mediocrity, sacred for the team. And even though this path is long and this place is unforeseen, gotta keep your feet moving, filling spaces in between, seeing places in your dreams if you can place them by your means. By all means, go back to sleep. The path is steep. There’s no rest for the weary if you intend to reach peaks. It gets deep. Come on, it’s infinite. We still climbing. Yes, yes, you are. And thanks for the positive vibes, but I still got a mountain to climb. Just take it one step at a time. I’m not gonna time my pride. I’ll never give up, ’cause when it’s all said and done, is what I’ve done enough? I push myself to the end to push myself to the brink. Here’s the toilet.

[Music]

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Beautiful life.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And I am so happy that your relationship with your daughter has improved.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
We are back. Now, if you would like to advertise on the show with eye-catching videos and increase your visibility, you can contact us at relationshipmattersTV@gmail.com. That’s relationshipmattersTV@gmail.com. Let’s bring back attorney Michael W. Stuttley.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
All right, Mike, so tell us how you got into the criminal justice system, juvenile court.

Michael W. Stuttley
I had been on the bench for about five years at the time. I was supervising judge of landlord-tenant court downtown, had a big corner office on the 14th floor overlooking Lake Michigan, and everything was going well. And then I got a call from the chief judge. My clerk came in and said, “Judge, come after I want to see you.” And I said, “Oh Lord, whatever I’ve done now.”

Michael W. Stuttley
So when I got upstairs to the 26th floor where the chief judge is, he said, “Have a seat.” And you know how judges sit high, where his bench was even higher? And he came around and sat next to me and said, “I need a favor.” I said, “Sure, chief, whatever. You know, what is it?” He said, “I need you to go to juvenile court.” And I said, “Oh Lord, please send me the marriage court, send me the night barn court, send me the traffic court, any place, but please don’t ask me to go to juvenile court.”

Michael W. Stuttley
He said, “I need you. I really need you, and if you go there for one year, I’ll give you any position in the circuit court that you want.”

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, I had never been in juvenile court, had never been in the building, had no intentions of being in the building, and I had always said if they sent me to juvenile court, I quit.

Michael W. Stuttley
So I would, he said, “Well, think about it.” This was on a Thursday. He said, “Think about it overnight and let me know.” I went back to my chambers, and before I was getting ready to leave, my clerk came in with Friday morning’s tribunal: “Judge Stuttley goes to juvenile court.” I was so upset that I decided to take my vacation. I packed everything, and I was going to resign.

Michael W. Stuttley
Oh, once my vacation was up, went out to Las Vegas, having a good time, and then I got a call from a young lady. She wanted to congratulate me on going to juvenile court, and she knew I didn’t think that was very funny, you know? And she said, “Let me say something to you. You have to be careful when you ask the Lord to order your steps.”

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, and once you ask him to order your steps, you have to be obedient. He said, “I know you don’t want to go to juvenile court, but that’s what God wants you to be.” I thought about it and I said, “Well, I’ll give it a try. I only got to be there one year, and I can be in the long division.”

Michael W. Stuttley
I went, and after being there less than a month, I realized that’s where I should have been all the time. And as a result, I was there for 18 years. They came back to me after that one year and said, “Where do you want to go now?” I said, “I want to stay right here in juvenile court.” And the rest is history.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So why did you want to stay in juvenile court?

Michael W. Stuttley
Because I saw the influence. Juvenile court, to a large extent, consists of young black males who don’t have any image of what it takes to be a man. And to be able to turn so many young black lives around was a rewarding thing. I mean, there wasn’t a week that went by, Dr. Fortman, where I wanted to transfer out of juvenile court, couldn’t take it no more.

Michael W. Stuttley
And then lo and behold, I may be at the movie theater or something, and some kid would walk up to me and say, “You don’t remember me, do you?” I say, “No.” And then he would say, “Look, something like you saved my life. But for you, I don’t know where I would be now.”

Michael W. Stuttley
And this, every week, is coming back to the office saying, “I want you to meet my family. I got my own business now, and I just want to thank you for helping save me.” That kept me in juvenile court for 18 years.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Now, when you say that they say that you saved them, you know, what did you do? You did not sentence them or…

Michael W. Stuttley
No, I was like, what did you do? I was a disciplinarian.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, kids in my courtroom had a curfew. Kids in my courtroom had to go to school. It was non-negotiable. If you didn’t go to school or you had been kicked out, then you got to come to my school. I had a school at the courthouse called Second Chance.

Michael W. Stuttley
Oh, so they had to come there. Young men could not wear earrings. They had to have on a shirt and tie. They would not wear their pants below the waistline. And if you’ve got the copy of my rules, the first day you was in my court, if you were 13, you had to be in the house by 7 o’clock. If you were 14, you had to be in the house by 7:30. If you were 15, you had to be in the house by 8 o’clock. 16, 17, 18, and 19, you had to be in the house by 9 o’clock.

Michael W. Stuttley
If you violated my rules, I gave you what we call a reality check. I’ll lock you up for seven days. So they learned that I meant what I said, and we was about trying to save young men primarily and young females because there were some females we had to turn around.

Michael W. Stuttley
The girls in my court can only have two earrings to the ear. That’s the maximum. They had their curfew, and young ladies did not wear pants in my courtroom. They had to have on a dress or a skirt and blouse, you know?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Wow, they had to be groomed.

Michael W. Stuttley
I had a young man come in my court, and I told him, “Get out. Don’t come back here until you get your hair cut.” He bawled and was upset. His mother said, “You can make my son cut his hair if he don’t want to.” I said, “What gives you the right to make him cut his hair?” I said, “He don’t have to cut it, but what I do have the right to do is send him to the penitentiary.”

Michael W. Stuttley
He came back with his hair cut, smiling and everything. I said, “What are you smiling about?” He said, “I look good.” But had I not insisted that he groomed himself, he never would have realized it.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Wow, that, you know, that that’s really something. And now do you think that’s happening in the courtrooms today?

Michael W. Stuttley
No, I get calls it every day just about for me, the probation officer or a police in the South suburbs or the chief of police saying, “Why don’t you come back?”

Michael W. Stuttley
You know, I’m not coming back. And the programs that we put in place, I don’t want credit for the judge who took my place. I just wanted her to implement them because they worked.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, they worked, but of course, as the presiding judge, they announced she has the right to make those choices.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, you know, so they don’t have to wear shirt and tie anymore. You know, the girls can wear whatever, whatever, you know, but it was a good run, you know?

Michael W. Stuttley
I had states attorneys who understood what I was doing, and they wasn’t concerned with just sending a kid to the penitentiary.

Michael W. Stuttley
Yeah, I had public defenders who was concerned about what I was doing, and they worked with me. Now they may have a kid there that they know if they go to trial, they’re gonna win the case.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, the question is, are you helping this kid?

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, so they worked with me, and we had an organization that ran like a well-oiled machine about saving kids. I got kids that was in my court who are doctors now.

Michael W. Stuttley
I have a kid, I’m in the process of closing on a building. The loan officer was a former kid of mine, really?

Michael W. Stuttley
Yeah, you know?

Michael W. Stuttley
Goodness, and this kid used to be the finance director of Lexus Motors.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Really?

Michael W. Stuttley
Yeah, so I’ve got kids who have done all type of things. Yes, and like one kid who’s a doctor now, he came to me for aggravated battery for the fire.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
No, no, it was unlawful use of a weapon. He had a gun. Long story short, he had this gun because he had been robbed twice, and he was working two jobs.

Michael W. Stuttley
So when he walked in the courtroom, I had to get his attention because he had his pants down. He had a jerry curl, and I’m saying it’s just like a little gang member.

Michael W. Stuttley
But when it came time for me to sentence him, you know, victims can come into court and make statements. Our courtroom was packed. This kid had been from grade school to high school, almost perfect attendance, double A honor roll.

Michael W. Stuttley
But the way he looked, I can imagine I prejudged him and said he’s a thug. So I imagine what a white judge would do.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, and who’s in the courtroom? His grade school teachers, his grade school principals, his high school teachers, his high school principal, telling them what a good kid this is.

Michael W. Stuttley
So when it came time to sentence him, I said, “I’m not going to sentence you right now. I want you to go home, change your appearance, and come back tomorrow, and I’ll finish the sentence.”

Michael W. Stuttley
He went home, cut the jerry curl and everything out of his hair, came back with three pieces looking like a Wall Street attorney.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, wow.

Michael W. Stuttley
And he said to me, “I appreciate that because no one ever told me that I look like a thug.”

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, you know, today he’s a doctor.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
That’s wonderful. Now I got a question that came in from another platform. What is the worst case that has come before you in court?

Michael W. Stuttley
Oh, there’s so many. Probably a young girl was trying to get two young white girls trying to get two young black guys to murder her parents.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Whoa!

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, the police arrested them, but not her, and they was ready to send these boys down the tube. And the boys came in and admitted to the police what she was trying to do. She gave them the combination to the garage door opener and everything. That was one.

Michael W. Stuttley
Then I had a kid who was going to kill everybody in his family. He put poison in the milk.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh my goodness!

Michael W. Stuttley
And the only reason they found out is because his little sister was getting ready to drink something. He stopped it. He didn’t want her to die; he just wanted mom and daddy and all the other everybody else there.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So in cases like that, Mike, do you, what do you do? Like with this young man as far as the milk is concerned?

Michael W. Stuttley
I know you don’t send them to prison, but do they go for psychological help?

Michael W. Stuttley
Yeah, they’re sent to a residential facility.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, in his case, it was a psychiatric hospital.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, Devereaux in Texas.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, you know, but a lot of the young black men who were discipline problems, I had a place out in Arizona called the Arizona Boys Ranch, and I sent them there.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, and to see some of them young men’s turn their life around, you know?

Michael W. Stuttley
I mean, they won the state championship in football out there, and when the Super Bowl was in Arizona during that time, about 10 of my young men performed with Diana Ross at halftime.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh really?

Michael W. Stuttley
Yeah, so they got some good experiences in there.

Michael W. Stuttley
And one kid, after his time was up, stayed out there.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, so let me ask you this last question before we go. What advice would you give to a young man that is thinking about going into law?

Michael W. Stuttley
Well, I guess the first thing I would tell them to work hard on English and writing. That’s the most important part of law.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, not how you speak because the judge ain’t listening to that.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, he’s reading your brief, okay? What you have in there, and that’s important. The best major for law, I would say, would be either English, accounting, or business.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
All right, well we only got a couple of minutes, and we want to, I just want to talk about again your book, “Order My Steps,” and it’s, and where can they get your book?

Michael W. Stuttley
We have to put it on the screen because it really talks about your life, your journey, and we just touched on just a, you know, just a few things.

Michael W. Stuttley
A small portion. A small portion of it, but it’s all about your life, your journey, and how God ordered your steps.

Michael W. Stuttley
Yes, and if they want to get your book, it’s on the lower third is lulu.com.

Michael W. Stuttley
Yes, or they can call your office at 708-462-2900. That’s lulu.com or 708-462-2900.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And we had a question that came in, and we only got, what, two minutes? It says, “Do records ever disappear? I know someone who was a product of abuse, and her abuser lied and said she put a gun on him. It was not true, but now she has a record. Will it go away?” Just give me a yes or no.

Michael W. Stuttley
Is that all I can do? That’s something I need to tell you quickly.

Michael W. Stuttley
Well, it depends on the judge. When kids was in my court and I put them on probation or whatever it was, if they finish their probation satisfactorily, I gave them from the beginning what we call a motion to vacate.

Michael W. Stuttley
Okay, and if they successfully completed the probation, I would vacate the finding and dismiss the case like it never happened.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, okay, that’s one time. So it can be expunged. A juvenile conviction is not a juvenile finding is not a conviction. The U.S. Supreme Court says so. It’s not something that should follow them.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, all righty.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, Sandy, I hope that answered your question.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, Michael W. Stuttley, honorable, the honorable Michael W. Stuttley, I really want to thank you for coming on the show this evening. You’ve given us a lot to really think about, and I just want to, and I know my audience wants to commend you.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Thank you on the role that you have played in so many young men’s lives, and I know, like you said, there’s so many who are grateful.

Michael W. Stuttley
Yes, yes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So many who you are grateful, and I know you’re retired, and I know you’re not going to go back because we’re just talking about you traveling all over and going home.

Michael W. Stuttley
You know, I haven’t worked this hard in 25 years.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And you have a law group. They contact you at that number, 708-462-2900, and get in contact with the Stuttley Law Group.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And here’s someone that says thank you, Judge Stuttley, because you have a group, and your group practices all kinds of law.

Michael W. Stuttley
Yes, so if you need a good attorney, contact 708-462-2900.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Thank you so much, Judge Stuttley.

Michael W. Stuttley
And thank you, Dr. Fortman, for having me.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, it’s been a pleasure. It’s been a pleasure.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Now everyone, don’t go anywhere. This has been amazing. I really wanted him to come on because just to see what a journey, his journey, but even just to see how young men can start out one way through their relationships and through their journey, they can transcend, I’ll say transcend, into another life, a fulfilled life, and a life that fulfills other people.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
But we are out of time, and I want to thank all of you who tuned in this evening, and I want you to remember relationships matter, and they’re all kinds of relationship matters.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And so we will see you again. I’m on a different computer. I keep telling everybody I’m on a different computer. I got to get my computer fixed, but we will see you again next week on Relationship Matters. Everyone have a beautiful, blessed morning, afternoon, or evening wherever you are in the world, and get your vaccine. Bye.

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