CALHOUN COUNTY, Mich. — The Calhoun County Justice Center has been named after Mary S. Coleman, the first woman elected to the Michigan Supreme Court and its first female chief justice.
For her daughter, Dr. Leslie Hagen, the honor reflects not just a historic career, but the character of the woman who lived it.
"She deserves it. She's every bit the woman that she's purported to be, and my job today was to give the mom side, the soft side, in that she carried what she did through the court systems also into her house," Hagen said.
Coleman's judicial career began in Calhoun County before she made history on the Michigan Supreme Court. Justice Kimberly Thomas says the impact of those firsts is still felt today.
"Yeah, so I'm the only the 15th woman justice on the State Supreme Court, and she really paved the way for me and for other justices on our court, as well as women across the legal field," Thomas said.
For Hagen, her mother's legacy was about more than making history. It was about what Coleman did with the opportunity she had to help others.
"She's very humble. She She would probably accept the honor, but with great humility. And she would say, That's fine. It's done. Now, let's see what else we can do. Let's keep working. Let's find something else we can help, someone else that needs us," Hagen said.
Now, Coleman's name will greet the people who walk through the Justice Center in the neighborhood where her career began. Hagen hopes visitors will remember not only what her mother accomplished, but the woman behind those accomplishments.
"Well, just that she was human. She was a superwoman, but she was human," Hagen said.
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