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By Anslem Samuel | Published October 27, 2011 | Full size is 620 × 480 pixels

JUDGE GREG MATHIS Before becoming one of TV’s favorite afternoon judges, the honorable Greg Mathis was a member of Detroit’s infamous Errol Flynns gang. With numerous arrests as a youth, he was once held at Detroit’s Wayne County Jail, where his mother revealed she had colon cancer during one of her visits. The news inspired Mathis to go straight, which he did upon his release on probation. Since his troubled teen years, the reformed citizen became an activist and earned his law degree. Although his criminal past barred him from practicing law for several years, Mathis finally made his dream come true in 1995 when he was elected a superior court judge for Michigan's 36th District, making him the youngest person in the state to hold the post. Now he reaches out to teens in prison making “PEER appearances” at various detention centers across the country and keeping the kids who don’t want to change behind bars.

JUDGE GREG MATHIS

Before becoming one of TV’s favorite afternoon judges, the honorable Greg Mathis was…