City attorney responds to lawsuit decision

City Attorney James Allen

By James Allen
Hamtramck City Attorney
I am pleased about Judge Goldsmith’s well-reasoned decision. I would like to thank my private attorneys and the city’s litigation counsel, Marc Deldin, of the Schenck & Bruetsch law firm for his tireless and tenacious defense of this frivolous lawsuit.
I am both humbled and inspired by the skill they all brought to bear on behalf of their clients. While we can expect an appeal and the waste of more of my own private resources and the public’s on the sort of nuisance litigation clogging our courts, for the moment at least, justice prevailed.
On a personal note, this has been an extraordinarily trying experience for me and the many people who ran to my aid and carried me through what has been the most challenging six months of my career.
I want to thank Hamtramck City Manager Kathy Angerer for believing in me and helping me use this experience to become a stronger, better, and more humble man. Her compassion and guidance left an indelibly positive impact on my life.
I’d also like to thank those elected officials, current and former, who allowed the judicial process to sort this dispute out. As I said, there was much more to this story than I could previously discuss given the pendency of the litigation.
As for Mr. Blackwell, I have been shown an outpouring of compassion and understanding from family, friends, some old foes, and even complete strangers, as I have come to grips with and taken responsibility for my mistakes.
I pay that forward; Mr. Blackwell has my compassion and understanding in return.
As a lawyer constantly mired in conflict, it is easy to lose perspective, especially when you are devoted to something as important as saving a city full of some of the most vulnerable people in the country.
I have now had many months to reflect upon the dark source of Mr. Blackwell’s actions toward me and the many people he has needlessly hurt in my life.
In the midst of discord and struggle, we all face a fundamental choice of whether to respond in anger or seek understanding. No one needs to tell me how self-destructive anger can be. The alternative is to accept responsibility, learn, grow, and receive healing as your reward.
A central tenet of my faith is to love enemies. I’ve learned what that means and the wisdom behind it. It’s no mere platitude or convenience. Love saves both enemy and self.
It’s no secret that this incident forced me to reevaluate my life and the way in which I have decided to make my living. I hope that others can learn from my example that, if we surrender to them, adversity and pain, can lead to rebirth and a better understanding of the tragedy of the human condition.
While I regret the decisions I made that brought me here, I do not now, and never will, regret the opportunity that my mistakes gave me to live a better life and be a better man and father.
Posted March 18, 2022