Longtime prosecutor (R), family law attorney (D) face off for judge's seat in Oakland Circuit Court

Two attorneys vying for an open judge's seat in Oakland County Circuit Court — one a family law attorney and the other a longtime assistant prosecutor leading a special victims unit — say their legal careers give them a unique advantage to become a jurist.

West Bloomfield family law attorney Nicole Sophia-Calhoun Huddleston, 42, and Oxford prosecutor Tricia Dare, 53, are both vying for an open non-partisan seat in the court's family division, which oversees adoption cases, personal protection orders, divorces and more. Six incumbent judges also are seeking reelection to six seats on Oakland's Sixth Circuit in a separate section of the ballot.

But both candidates have dealt with issues. Huddleston has paid her taxes late more than a dozen times over the last two decades, property records show. She said she honors her financial commitments and she'll "be a judge who "understands the challenges of everyday people … and values accountability."

Dare attempted to run for Oakland County Circuit Court in 2022 but couldn't get her name on the ballot because the state rejected many of her petition signatures as fraudulent — along with two other judicial candidates and five hopefuls running for governor. She blamed the issue on a contractor and said this time around she used volunteers to ensure the signatures were valid.



https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2024/10/31/judicial-race-sixth-circuit-oakland-circuit-court-nicole-huddleston-tricia-dare/75892522007/