Judge DarnellJeremyBowie

Newly appointed Judge Jeremy Darnell Bowie of Michigan’s 50th District Court has a passion for helping others and strengthening the justice system.

After being the first in his family to graduate from college, Hon. Jeremy Darnell Bowie moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked at the White House in President Barack Obama’s administration. When he returned to Michigan to attend WMU-Cooley Law School, little did he know he would be behind the bench 10 years later.

Bowie (Trimble Class, 2015) was appointed 50th District Court judge in Pontiac by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in December 2022. His term began on Jan. 9, 2023 – filling the partial term of retired Judge Michael Martinez –and ends Jan. 1, 2025.

Before his appointment, the former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney did not see himself ever being a judge. He feared the mental toll that comes with empathizing with defendants while having to uphold the law. Bowie’s desire to impact people’s lives and strengthen the justice system, however, inspired him to pursue his plan.

“Having worked in the criminal law field for a majority of my legal career, I found my footing and learned the importance of having both compassion and experience,” said Bowie. “When you merge intelligence and compassion, that is when you have mass impact – the type of impact that changes lives for the better.”

Serving as judge has allowed Bowie to see both sides of a court case, apply the law to the facts, and delineate why certain circumstances occurred.

“It has really changed my perspective on how powerful the law is, and how impactful it is on people’s lives. When you’re on one side, you’re only considering that side,” he said. “But analyzing cases from an impartial and unbiased perspective, you see the effects on both sides as you must maintain a neutral outlook on every case.”

The youngest of six children, Bowie comes from a humble upbringing in Pontiac, Michigan. His parents, Josephine Bowie and Quincy Hayes, were blue-collar workers at General Motors, and worked hard to provide for their family. Growing up, the Pontiac Northern High School (now Pontiac High School) graduate dreamed of becoming either a lawyer or a pediatrician.

“In both careers, you help people for the better,” said Bowie. “With one, you help them physically, and the other you help them navigate life. Growing up, seeing and experiencing discrimination and learning about the injustices my mom and family experienced during the Civil Rights movement in the South, it made me want to become a defender. I’ve always believed that if you know the rules of the game, you can play the game well. You can also police the game well. This is what drove me to ultimately pursue the field of law.”

Bowie earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science (prelaw) from Michigan State University, and moved to Washington D.C. to gain experience in the political arena. It was there that he interned for the late Sen. Carl Levin, and worked in the office of presidential correspondence at the White House during President Barack Obama’s administration in spring 2012.

“It was unique that (Obama) was the first president I ever voted for – my first election ever was the Obama election – and then years later, I went to work for him. What a true honor – it was amazing,” said Bowie. “I always tell young people, while you’re young, go for broke and go live in D.C. It will motivate you and force you to go outside your comfort zone. D.C. is one of the fastest cities in the world. If you can make it there, you can really make it anywhere.”

Bowie enrolled at WMU-Cooley Law School in fall 2012, and earned his Juris Doctor degree three years later. From 2016-2020, he worked in the domestic violence unit of the special victims unit at the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, starting as an intern and moving up to assistant prosecuting attorney. Prior to his judicial appointment, Bowie was a criminal defense attorney with The Perkins Law Group, PLLC, where he was head of legal research and writing, co-lead of a large state criminal case docket, and head of a federal criminal case docket. A member of The National Black Lawyers, Bowie was named among its Top 40 Under 40 in 2022. Additionally, Bowie was selected in February for the Oakland County Executive’s Oakland Together 40 Under 40 Class of 2023.

Now, Bowie has quite a full court docket, often seeing 30-40 cases per day, including city prosecuted cases, civil cases, state misdemeanors and felony preliminary exams, traffic tickets, small claims, landlord-tenant, and arraignments.

“The 50th District Court is one of the busiest courts in the state,” he said. “We literally do it all here.”

When not presiding over cases in his courtroom, Bowie spends time mentoring FIRST Robotics students, Wings of Fire – Team 51, at International Technology Academy within the Pontiac School District, a program Bowie was part of when he was in high school.

Bowie, who’s been mentoring FIRST Robotics students for the past seven years, shared that it’s important for him to give back to the same community that helped shape him into the person he is today.

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