ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR

Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God’
By Debbie (Titus-77) George

“Why don’t you come back to Detroit and help me help the community?”

What a question to pose to a man whose résumé includes an internship at the United States Supreme Court, a Fulbright scholarship to study international law at Oxford University, and a law degree from American University in Washington, D.C.

Why would a man like Jeffrey Nutt (86), with visions of a dazzling legal career ahead of him, choose public interest law — and in a city that one international human rights group has described as “the toughest place in the industrialized world for a child to be raised”?

It’s simple, really. “My work,” Nutt said, “affords me the greatest opportunity to integrate my faith in Christ with my profession.”

It was Linda Bernard, executive director of Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services (WCNLS), who asked Southfield, Mich., native Nutt to come to Detroit. “He quickly became known as a compassionate advocate with a keen intellect,” she said in a letter. In 1994, he took on an additional job: managing attorney for the new Children’s Law Center (CLC), an advocacy group that gives children legal representation in areas such as benefits entitlement and custody disputes.

At both WCNLS and the CLC, Nutt continues to “fight the good fight; that’s what it’s all about,” he said. Hundreds of people contact their offices for help each working day, and as Nutt said, “We have a handful of lawyers compared to the magnitude of the needs.”

When the job becomes too much, “I let go and let God,” Nutt said. “I pray for God’s blessing and His divine intervention frequently. So many people who come to us for help have nowhere else to turn. They’re in a state of personal emergency. The impact of all the complex socioeconomic issues takes its toll on families to the point where many of them begin to self-destruct. Children get caught in the middle.”

In the end, Nutt said, “Only God is able to help them. There are many problems lawyers are incapable of solving. But, we can help them keep a roof over their heads, stop illegal and unnecessary evictions, and ensure access to a full and fair hearing in the courts.”

Nutt himself lives daily with a condition known as ankylosing spondylitis, a deteriorating form of arthritis that has caused his spine to fuse. Despite constant pain, he works nonstop —sometimes around the clock. He teaches Sunday school, volunteers at a youth home, and shares his skills at a juvenile detention facility. He and his wife, Dr. Mayra Troya-Nutt, have also done missions work in Cuba.

Nutt’s life verse is from Isaiah 61:1: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because He has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound . . .”

Isaiah had nothing on Jeffrey Nutt.