Greg Mathis

At 64 years old, Greg Mathis has this physical status:

Gregory Ellis Mathis (born April 5, 1960) is a retired Michigan 36th District Court judge turned arbiter of the Daytime Emmy Award–winning, syndicated reality courtroom show, Judge Mathis.

Produced in Chicago, Illinois, his program has been on the air since September 13, 1999 and entered its 20th season beginning on Monday, September 3, 2018.Emanating from the success of his venerable courtroom series, Mathis has also made a name for himself as a prominent leader within the Black American community as a black-culture motivational speaker.

Mathis boasts the longest reign of any African American presiding as a court show judge, beating out Judge Joe Brown whose program lasted 15 seasons.

Mathis is also the second longest serving television arbitrator ever, behind only Judith Sheindlin of Judge Judy by three seasons. A spiritually inspired play, Been there, Done that, based on his life toured twenty-two cities in the U.S. in 2002.

In addition, Inner City Miracle, a memoir, was published by Ballantine Books.

Early life

Mathis was born in Detroit, Michigan, the fourth of four boys born to Charles Mathis, a Detroit native, and his wife Alice Lee Mathis, a devoted Seventh-day Adventist, nurse's aide, and housekeeper. Alice (then divorced from Charles) raised Mathis alone in Detroit during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. Mathis moved to Herman Gardens in 1964 and lived there with the family until roughly 1970. They moved away from the housing complex to avoid rising drug use and rates of violent crime.

Judge Mathis' biological father was estranged from him, but associated closely with the Errol Flynns, a past notorious Detroit street gang, that Mathis would eventually join while a teenager doing drugs . In the 1970s, he was arrested numerous times. While he was incarcerated in Wayne County Jail, as a seventeen-year-old juvenile, his mother visited him and broke the news that she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Mathis was offered early probation because of his mother's illness.

Education

Once out of jail, Mathis began working at McDonald's, a job he needed to keep in order to maintain his release on probation. A close family friend helped Mathis get admitted to Eastern Michigan University, and he discovered a new interest in politics and public administration. He became a campus activist and worked for the Democratic Party, organizing several demonstrations against South African Apartheid policies. He graduated with a B.S. in Public Administration from the Ypsilanti campus and began to seek employment in Detroit's City Hall. He also became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Personal life

Mathis met his wife, Linda, a fellow EMU student, shortly after his mother's death. They would go on to have four children together, a daughter Jade, born May 1985, daughter Camara, born October 1987, son Greg Jr. born January 1989 and son Amir, born July 1990. Mathis who is a member of the City Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church, was awarded the Black History Achievement Award from Oakwood University, which he says is the most meaningful award he has received.

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Career

Judge Mathis, Mathis' most well-known television show, is currently on its 24th season as of September 5, 2022. The program is one of the longest running shows in the court programming field, 4th in place behind only Divorce Court, The People's Court, and Judge Judy (both now out of production). Mathis and Judge Judy are among the longest single-production runs as Divorce Court and The People's Court have suffered with temporary cancellations/re-installations/judge recasting, as well as runs with a single presiding judge. Judge Judy will be out of service after 25 years as of July 2021, and Judge Mathis is now the longest running single-production court show on record. Mathis is also the second longest serving arbitrator in courtroom television history.

Mathis also appears in another program called Mathis Family Matters, which revolves around him, his family, and their families as they face domestic highs and lows.

Mathis began his political career as an unpaid intern and then became an assistant to Clyde Cleveland, a city council member. Mathis took the LSAT and applied to law schools at the University of Detroit School of Law, which was just around the corner from downtown Detroit; he was conditionally admitted to the University of Detroit School of Law, which was only walking distance from city hall. He completed a summer course and was admitted to the night program, but it took four years to complete.

Mathis was refused a license to practice law for several years after graduating from law school due to his criminal history. He obtained his J.D. In 1987, Mercy University was founded in Detroit, Michigan. He was elected as a district judge for Michigan's 36th District in 1995, making him the youngest person in the state to hold the office. He was rated in the top five of all judges in the 36th District for five years; there are about thirty judges each year.

In 1988, Mathis was appointed to lead Jesse Jackson's Presidential bid in the state of Michigan. Mathis later became the mayor Coleman Young's re-election bid, and after being elected to head the city's east side city hall, Mathis was promoted to head the city's east side city hall.

Since rising to national television fame thanks to his television appearance, Mathis has continued to participate in politics. His interest has been concentrated on urban politics and African-American movements. Mathis was most recently invited by the Obama administration to participate in "My Brothers Keeper," a White House initiative to support boys and men of color.

As Mathis announced up to $92 worth of free gasoline to the first 92 drivers to turn up at a northwest Detroit Mobil station on June 4, 2011, Detroit-area drivers lined up for blocks. Despite his youthful criminal history, he told the Detroit Free Press it was a gift to the people who elected him to District Court. "I didn't elect me judge," he said. "Chicago did not elect me judge." I was given a chance by Detroiters to try me out. It's just the right thing to do. And if you're blessed, you'll have to look out for the rest." The Mathis Community Center, which he owns, was the subject of the competition. Its programs include self-improvement classes, food and clothing assistance, and specialization for ex-convicts. "No matter what international success he has achieved, he's still a hometown guy," WMXD-FM's Frankie Darcell, who announced the location on the radio. "Everybody's joking." "I'm excited," gas station owner Mike Safiedine said. "People need it, especially because the price is so high."

Mathis wrote a book called Street Judge, based on the life of a judge who solves murders in September 2008. Zane, a well-known erotic series writer of Zane's Sex Chronicles, co-authored it. Mathis also wrote a book titled From Being a Judge to Criminals, Inc.

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