On a crisp Veterans Day morning in Michigan, Kenneth Briggs, now Chief of Pre-Trial and Justice Services for Oakland County, stood alongside the man who changed the course of his life: the Hon. Fred Mester.
In one aspect, it was a full-circle reunion moment more than four decades in the making, but on the other hand, it was the continuation of a father-and-son-like friendship and relationship that’s lasted almost four decades. It’s a friendship that tells a story of mentorship, justice, faith, forgiveness, and the enduring bonds that transcend race, politics, and generations.
Their journey together began in 1988, when Mester, then a circuit court judge in Oakland County, presided over one of the most harrowing criminal cases in the county; a brutal sexual assault that involved a young teenage victim. Briggs, then a homeless 13-year-old, had stumbled into a dangerous situation that would forever alter his life.
“I walked into a crack house that my brother was running,” Briggs recalled. “A young girl was being raped, and we were 13. I helped her escape, and from there, I got a lot of notoriety.”
The case became a test of courage for the young witness. Threatened, targeted, and even facing firebombings intended to silence him, Briggs refused to back down thanks to the mentorship of Judge Mester.
“Fred was an integral part in that aspect,” he said. “He and a group of people were able to get me safe because the guys were after me… they were trying to get me to not testify, including my family.”
For Judge Mester, it was clear early on that Briggs was no ordinary teenager.
“It’s very special, our relationship,” Mester said. “Here was a case where an individual younger than the attackers stood up to them and said, ‘What you’re doing is wrong.’ He ran out of the house, got two friends to help him get the girl out, took her to the hospital, and went to the sheriff’s department to report it, realizing this was a heinous act that needed to be addressed so it would not be done again in Pontiac.”
Recognizing the young man’s moral conviction and precarious situation, Mester took a personal interest in Briggs’ future.
“I had a chance to get to know Kenneth a little bit and realized he was homeless,” Mester said. “What a remarkable thing for a boy his age to stand up to people much older than him.” Mester even wrote about Briggs for a national religious magazine, hoping the story would inspire others to “stand up for what is right.” What began as a courtroom relationship became a lifelong mentorship — one that both men say has shaped their lives profoundly.
Today, Briggs leads Oakland County’s Pre-Trial and Justice Services, a position that oversees programs aimed at ensuring fairness and equity within the justice system. But his roots remain deeply tied to the lessons he learned as a boy from Pontiac, and from the man who once presided over his case.
“Fred has always been along my side,” Briggs said. “I’m 52 years old now, and Fred’s 88. Looking back on how much trauma I had and how much fixing I needed to go through… Fred stepped in after the case and was a father — which most judges wouldn’t do.”
Their bond defies easy categorization. “We always laugh — I’m a strict liberal, and he’s a strict Republican,” Briggs said as the two laughed. “But we are joined at the hip. We’ve always been joined at the hip, telling people that you can get along and that there has to be some kind of civility in this world — that people can talk across color lines and barriers.”
That message, Briggs said, guides his work with young people today.
“I’ve mentored over 30 individuals to success,” he explained. “The majority of the males I’ve mentored, I’ve stepped into their lives. It’s a daily battle, but I try to give them the words of encouragement that Fred gave me — because I’ve fallen before, and I got up.”
Briggs still remembers the words that carried him through the toughest moments of his life. “Fred always told me this, and I never forget: ‘God forgives you, I forgive you, and I love you.’ If everybody can have that forgiveness and that understanding that people are capable of making mistakes and getting up again, it’s a great story.”
For Mester, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Germany before becoming a federal prosecutor and later an Oakland County Circuit Judge, service has always been central to his life’s mission.
“People serve in the military from private right up to general — everyone plays an important role,” he said. “We learn through life that individuals, no matter whether they’re servers or cooks or farmers, help make life full. We must realize that everyone — whether they have a diploma or not — can do good and help other people.”
Even in retirement, Mester continues to advocate for mentorship, fairness, and compassion within the justice system. Briggs said that Mester has helped change countless lives, especially in the African American community, through his involvement in civic boards and charitable work.
“He realizes now that some of the people he sentenced decades ago through the juvenile justice system deserve a second chance,” Briggs said. “Some of them are coming home after 40 years, and they deserve to come home.”
When the two connected for Veterans Day this year, it was more than a ceremonial moment. It was a chance to reflect on the decades of shared purpose that began in a courtroom and now continue in their mutual service to justice.
“It was very humbling,” Mester said of being honored for his military service. “Sometimes you don’t have a lot to give in money or contributions, but what you have is the heart — the heart that you can give to others through a smile, through encouragement.”
Their story first appeared in the Michigan Chronicle some 40 years ago. The 1997 issue — Volume 60, Number 37 — featured Briggs as a national spokesperson for the Michigan Association for Leadership and Development, a mentorship initiative connecting young Black males with community leaders. Mester helped facilitate that feature, seeing the potential in a young man who once stood alone against violence and fear.
Now, decades later, their story returns to the Chronicle — older, wiser, and more deeply intertwined. Briggs hopes that by revisiting their shared history, others will see that mentorship and moral courage can change the trajectory of a life, and even a community.
“Fred changed so many lives — not just mine,” Briggs said. “He’s 88 years old now, and I just want to honor him. He showed me what it means to forgive, to serve, and to believe that people can come back from anything.”
Mester, in turn, sees Briggs as proof that compassion and courage ripple forward.
“Stories like Kenneth’s remind us that no matter what age you are, you can make a difference,” he said. “We all must stand up for what is right and protect those who do right. That’s how we make our communities — and our nation — stronger.”
From a courtroom in Pontiac to a Veterans Day celebration nearly four decades later, Judge Fred Mester and Kenneth Briggs have lived out that message, which showcases a story of justice, redemption, and the quiet power of mentorship that continues to shape lives across cultural boundaries.