Newly Elected Judge sides with Beal over community member

The Ypsilanti-based landlord Stewart Beal has been called a ‘nightmare’ and ‘slumlord’ by alleged current, former, and prospective tenants. The Ypsilanti Tenants Union released a list of ‘Beal Properties Horror Stories’ in 2023. Now, Stewart has begun a case against an Ypsilanti community member in the court of newly-elected Judge Jinan Hamood. At a February 5 hearing, Stewart asked Judge Hamood to issue a Personal Protective Order (PPO) against housing advocate, survivor of homelessness, and former Beal Properties tenant KJ Pedri, based on an interaction they had at an October 2024 Ypsi City Council meeting. Stewart is also seeking $25,000 in damages from KJ, characterizing KJ’s political activity as stalking, harassment, and assault, according to Pedri. In a move that shocked community members who attended the hearing, Judge Hamood granted Stewart the PPO. One community member, Jared Eno, wrote the following email to Judge Hamood in response:

“Subject: Deeply disappointed by your decision to grant Stewart Beal a PPO

Dear Judge Hamood,

I am deeply disappointed and alarmed by your decision to grant Stewart Beal a PPO against community member KJ. I sat through the hearing yesterday and was shocked by the lazy baselessness of Beal’s claims, and could not believe my ears when you granted him the PPO. Your decision was unacceptable and positions you against the interests of the community.

Your decision was blatantly biased and lacking in rigor. Beal’s stance is that he was afraid for his family, but his own testimony showed the massive power differential between him and KJ—in Beal’s favor. Beal said he had hired people to surveil and intimidate KJ, that he was not afraid of the people who were opposing him politically, and that his goal was not personal safety but retribution (“holding people responsible”). As someone who ran on a platform of equity and justice, you should be able to recognize how powerful people weaponize their own feelings to justify the oppression of others. Instead, you have thrown the weight of the legal system behind Beal’s narcissism.

Throughout the hearing, it was Beal who acted disrespectfully rather than the person you granted him a PPO against. Beal consistently portrayed his political opponents’ positions (like anarchism and abolitionism) as irrational, illegitimate, and dangerous, rather than recognizing them as political disagreements. He was literally unable to say that he disagreed with the idea of defunding the police, instead simply denigrating it as preposterous. He advocated the exclusion of people from public city council meetings because they were not “citizens” of Ypsilanti, a categorization that literally does not exist. He portrayed people acting collectively in support of each other as “mobs.” This is not respectful or civil discourse, it is simply an effort to exclude and disempower.

The way Beal spoke at the hearing made it clear to me that he has no interest in democratic discourse, and instead was seeking to weaponize the legal system to suppress civic action. So I was stunned when you empowered him to shut down civic engagement. To be clear, the limitations you put on the PPO (like allowing KJ to attend city council meetings) are meaningless. What you have done will further empower Beal to intimidate and silence his political opponents. We all heard in court that Beal is already weaponizing the police for his own purposes, like when they detained KJ but not Beal when trying to clear the Ypsi City Council chambers. The PPO you granted hands him another tool to sic the cops on KJ and others.

Judge Hamood, during your campaign you said that our courts “should be first and foremost compassionate and progressive in their values,” that you would “fight for a legal system that treats people fairly and with compassion,” and that you “firmly believe one of the most important aspects of the legal field is giving back to the community and those we serve.” Your decision to grant Stewart Beal this PPO is not compassionate or progressive, it is the opposite. You have chosen to serve a powerful and vindictive landlord and take away from our community and the people you serve. Your decision is disappointing in the extreme and I sincerely hope that you find a way to fix this grave mistake immediately.”