in Public Administration from the Ypsilanti campus and began to seek employment in Detroit's City Hall. He also became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Career Television Mathis's biggest claim to fame is his television court show, Judge Mathis, currently in its 24th season as of September 5, 2022. The program is one of the longest-running shows in the court programming genre, 4th in place behind only Divorce Court, The People's Court and Judge Judy (now out of production), respectively. As Divorce Court and The People's Court have suffered temporary cancellations/re-installments/judge-role recasting, Mathis and Judge Judy boasts the longest single-production runs as well as runs with a single presiding judge. With Judge Judy out of production after 25 seasons as of July 2021, Judge Mathis is now the longest-running active single-production court show. Mathis is also the second-longest-reigning arbitrator in courtroom television history. Following the success of his ongoing court show, Mathis also stars in another program entitled Mathis Family Matters which revolves around himself, his family, and their loved ones as they face domestic highs and lows. Outside of television Mathis began his political career as an unpaid intern, and then became an assistant to Clyde Cleveland, a city council member. It was at this time Mathis took the LSAT and applied to law schools; he was conditionally admitted to the University of Detroit School of Law, which was located in downtown Detroit, walking distance from city hall. He passed a summer course and was officially admitted to the night program, which took four years to complete. Mathis was denied a license to practice law for several years after graduating from law school because of his criminal past. He received his J.D. from the University of Detroit Mercy in 1987. In 1995, he was elected a district court judge for Michigan's 36th District, making him the youngest person in the state to hold the post. During the five years he was on the bench, he was rated in the top five of all judges in the 36th District; there are about thirty judges each year. Mathis was appointed head of Jesse Jackson's Presidential campaign in the state of Michigan in 1988. Mathis later became head of Mayor Coleman Young's re-election campaign and after the victory was appointed to run the city's east side city hall. Mathis has continued to be involved in politics after rising to national entertainment