Written by Tanya Terry
Featured photo: The Honorable Judge Herman Marable Jr.
The Honorable Judge Herman Marable Jr. has been in his role as a judge in Genesee County for 26 years, starting as a 68th District Court until it ws merged into the 67th District Court in 2015.
Marable shared he also has always believed judges should be in tune with what’s going on in the communities around them and address some of the issues going on in them.
“When I ran for this position, I felt that it was important to make sure that in criminal cases, any punishment truly fit the crime.,” Marable added. “ I certainly, when the court had more resources utilized community service quite a bit for nonviolent offenders. “
Little did Marable know that on October 19, 2025, he would do something heroic that would cause him to impact the community and court in other ways down the line.
He had attended a National Bar Association meeting in New York, and after it concluded, he was looking for a parking spot in Brooklyn.
“So I was driving around and around and around, and I saw this man, and he was lying in the street,” shared Marable. “It was clear that he was unconscious. He had a couple of his friends. They were trying to revive him. They were shaking him. They were pouring water on him. They were quite panicked.”
It was apparent to Marable the man’s friends did not know CPR.
“So, I just started doing the chest compressions on this man. We had the 911 operator on the phone, and she was kind of encouraging me there, coaching me a little bit. So, I probably did CPR on him for about 4 or 5 minutes or so. He started to come around and, just as he’s starting to come around, the paramedics arrived, and they took over. I put him in the ambulance, and I followed them to the hospital – because I wanted to see what was going to happen.”
Although the man was somewhat disoriented, he wanted to shake Marable’s hand. Marable and the man kept up with each other through video calling after the man’s release from the hospital.
Because of this experience, in October 2026, the 67th District Court held a CPR training and automated external defibrillator training. Judges, as well as other court and county employees participated.
When Marable was 12, his school was part of a mass CPR class at the Pontiac Silverdome when it was brand new. He has kept the card he got after his certification ever since.
Decades later, for the more recent training, the 67th District Court brought in a group called Champions of the Heart. The organization was founded by Michael Garland, who was the assistant basketball coach at Michigan State University. Garland previously had a cardiac arrest on the side of the road, and two strangers saved him, which led him to found the organization.
“The New York incident was certainly one of the prime factors. But one of my mentors, who even was the person who administered my oath of office when I first got elected, was Judge Benjamin Logan from Grand Rapids.
“One day, he was conducting a hearing, or a trial or something. And he had a cardiac arrest while he was on the bench during this case. It took a while before anybody knew what was going on. They thought he was looking down, and they thought he was reading a document or something. But in fact, he was out. And, you know, this went on for a few minutes.
“When they finally realized what was going on, the next problem was the AED machine. I think his courtroom was maybe on the eighth floor or ninth floor…and the AED machine was on the first floor. So by the time they could get the machine to him, he was out for I think they said eight minutes, or something like that. It was a significant period of time.
“He was rushed to the hospital. And he’s in the ICU. And then, he had a stroke at the hospital, on top of all of this…He was in critical condition for weeks, in the hospital for weeks.
“They did save him, but he was never able to return back to his job. And it forced his retirement, and he died a few years after that.
“That situation also was a motivator.”
Marable wants as many people in the local community and beyond to learn CPR as possible, and he said the skills are something almost anyone can learn.
Judge Marable said he decided he wanted to be a lawyer at age 10, shortly after reading a book his parents got him about Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Court’s first African American justice.
Marable is a 1980 graduate of the Roeper School, received a B.A. from the James Madison College at Michigan State University in 1984, and he attended the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
To emphasize the importance of education, he is in the process of fully reviving the Judge Marable Student of the Month and Year program. Through the program, selected 10th grade students have been honored with certificates, trophies and $500 cash prizes for their academic and career goals. He did note the program has not been the same since COVID. But he said he has always been happy to fund the program through the money he earns through winning karaoke contests.
He also receives nominations for the Herman Sr. & Iris Marable Senior Citizen of the Month program among those over 60 in Flint & Genesee County. Additionally, Marable been part of the swearing in of student government members at Job Corps-Flint.
“I think that education is a key component in keeping young people focused and away from crime and other issues that are going to pull them down and keep them in the court system.”
Marable stated: “I’ve been blessed to be in a leadership position, you know, as an elected official in this community for over a quarter of a century.”
