By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
"I represent people who are up against superior forces," 20-year civil rights attorney Amos Williams, Democratic nominee for attorney general, said in Dowagiac Sunday afternoon.
By superior forces, Williams means insurance companies, corporations "or the government itself."
"One of the things I do best is police work," he said at the Institute for International Cooperation and Development (IICD) on Dailey Road. "As a consequence, a lot of the cases that I did were against police officers who crossed the line and violated citizens' civil rights. A lot of people say, 'How could you sue cops if you were a cop?' Most police officers take their job seriously and they do it right, day in and day out. You never know who they are, you never know their names, because they're just part of the system. But when a police officer does his job improperly, you do have a problem because now you're going up against the government. There are a lot of people who don't want to take on the government. I have never been afraid to take them on, and besides, I knew how you do that job right."
Williams said, "I knew what a policeman was supposed to do in any circumstance. When they cross the line, then I have a problem with them. People say, 'You're just one of those trial lawyers who got rich suing police officers.' Every time I hear that nonsense, I want to remind these people of a couple of things. First and foremost, no lawyer ever gave himself a verdict. When I represent a client, I talk to the people in the jury box and say, 'This is my client's case, this is how he was damaged and this is how much I think you ought to pay him to cover those damages.' Everyday people, from students to sanitation workers, sit on those juries and listen, and they're very conscientious about their jobs. Most trial lawyers would love to stand in front of a jury and do the ol' Jedi mind trick on them – 'You will rule for the plaintiff' – but guess what? That doesn't work. Jurors have minds of their own."
Williams still remembers a law professor characterizing trial lawyers as "the foot soldiers of the Constitution. We defend people's rights. We have three branches, executive, legislative and judicial, and there are supposed to be checks and balances on each other. The Bill of Rights protects us from our government. It's a shield that stands between every citizen and the awesome coercive force of the U.S. government. If you don't believe the government can be coercive, rub up against it sometime. Trial lawyers make sure the government doesn't go too far."
"The attorney general is the chief law officer for the state of Michigan. He has both law enforcement responsibilities and he has legal responsibilities. He is, in essence, the top cop and the top lawyer for the state. He enforces criminal laws and civil laws, civil rights and worker safety. In addition to that, he is the state's lawyer and your lawyer. He is the legal adviser to both the governor and the Legislature."
"I believe I'm qualified to do that because I've been both a cop and a lawyer," Williams said. "I've served this country for 40 years. I've served as an Army sergeant, as a police lieutenant and, if you think I'm worthy, as attorney general. I'd like your support and your vote Nov. 7."
The Detroit native started out as a member of the United Auto Workers at Dodge Main in Hamtramck after graduating from Central High School.
In February 1966, the 18-year-old joined the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division and fought in Vietnam as a paratrooper and calling in artillery and air strikes. He earned a Bronze Star for Valor and two Purple Hearts for combat wounds.
Williams returned home in November 1968 and joined the Detroit Police Department, which a year after the riots "didn't look a lot like the city (racially), which was problematic. I was promoted to sergeant and promoted to lieutenant by the time I was 28."
He went on to graduate from the FBI Academy at Quantico, Va., in 1980 and received his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Wayne State University two years later.
In 1984, he lost his dominant right hand from cancer resulting from his exposure to the jungle defoliant Agent Orange while in Vietnam.
He retired from the Detroit Police Department in 1985 and earned his law degree from Detroit College of Law the following year.
"At the time that occurred, that I had to have my hand amputated, I was 36 years old, I was a police lieutenant and the father of two young children and a student. That was bad timing, though someone said to me, 'When's a good time for someone to cut off your hand?' "
He is married to Carole Youngblood. He has two children, Eric and Jennifer.