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Judge Who Gave Drug Dealer A Second Chance Swears Him In As Lawyer 16 Years Later

Judge Who Gave Drug Dealer A Second Chance Swears Him In As Lawyer 16 Years Later

Edward Martell could've been given 20 years in prison in 2005, but instead the Judge took a chance and was repaid handsomely.

Simon Catling

Simon Catling

A judge who once gave a drug dealer a second chance has once again faced him at the stand 16 years on. This time, though, he was swearing him in as a lawyer.

In a remarkable zero to hero tale, the first time that Edward Martell and Judge Bruce Morrow met was in 2005 in a Wayne County courtroom in Michigan. Martell was then 27 years-old and had dropped out of High School in his teens.

Edward Martell

He subsequently built up a sizeable rap sheet and had been out on bail when he was arrested in a drug raid just days before his mother's birthday.

At the time, Martell pleaded guilty to selling and manufacturing crack cocaine and could have spent the next 20 years in prison.

Instead, Morrow took a chance on him.

"I can imagine Ed - being a Brown man, coming from an economically depressed environment, having been chased by police and put in handcuffs - never thinking this is where the love could come from," the Judge said of Martell, who is Latino.

He gave him three years of probation and a challenge to return to court next time with an achievement, such as becoming a corporate executive.

"It was kind of in jest, but he understood I believed he could be anything he wanted to be," Morrow said.

"Any other judge would have flushed me," Martell told The Washington Post.

Martell then set to it. After graduating with an associate's degree, he said he then went on to earn academic scholarships from the University of Detroit Mercy for undergrad and law school. He later got a clerkship with the Federal Public Defender for the District of Columbia.

He also stayed in touch with Morrow throughout, checking in once every couple of months, with the Judge becoming of a mentor to him.

It wasn't always easy for the former convict. He violated probation before completing his three-year term and was initially discouraged to pursue law at community college in 2008 because of his record.

Edward Martell

However, he battled through, even getting through Michigan state's notoriously difficult character and fitness evaluation - a stage all prospective lawyers must go through.

"The main thing they look for is candor. I let them know I am remorseful - that I'm downright embarrassed," Martell said of his past. "I am the same person, but I don't think like that anymore. I've evolved."

Following the submission of a 1200 page long application, he was ultimately accepted.

"My tears started like a baby. I've been chasing this dream for 13 years not even knowing what's at the end of this tunnel," Martell said.

On May 14 he met Morrow and was officially sworn in. He'll begin work at at Perkins Law Group, who presented him with a monogrammed leather briefcase and a pen with his initials.

It couldn't have been more fitting that it all took place back in Morrow's own courtroom.

Featured Image Credit: Edward Martell