"Maybe it wasn't the case, but it creates the appearance of coaching, or at least flagging, 'This is something you're going to need to address,' and that's my worry," Baillargeon said. Gov. The rest of the charges against Field will be dismissed including charges of criminal sexual conduct and no additional charges will be brought against him from the investigation. If there are more than twice the number of candidates than there are judgeships up for election, the race will appear on the primary election ballot. Recount in Allegan County prosecutor race confirms same winner by 17 votes, Judge said man who killed 3 women should never go free but felon seeking parole after 48 years, Family of WMU student slain in 1972 awaits killers parole ruling. Michigan Probate Courts, Courts in Michigan Michigan judicial elections Judicial selection in Michigan. Community Volunteer . Dobrich said Allegan Circuit Judge Roberts Kengis will preside over the trial, which will take place in Cassopolis. Bakker, who remains on the bench, served in the role for 11. In a process run by a county clerk, the candidates choose slips of paper from a box that say either "elected" or "not elected".[2]. 13 READS: Muskegon book store asking for help to stay open, continue to promote literacy, 13 On Your Side Forecast: Fog Thursday; Snowstorm Friday. .courts-container hr {background-color:#f0a236;padding-bottom:2px;}, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan, Michigan Supreme Court Lynch said that emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act showed improper communication between the trial judge, Margaret Zuzich-Bakker, and the prosecutor, regarding substantive matters that gave the prosecution a tactical advantage.. This trooper has been given additional personal training since this investigation. Judge Kengis is an Allegan Circuit judge who was assigned the case when Cass County Circuit Judge Mark Herman recused himself. The case will be reassigned to Judge Margaret Bakker. In the majority opinion, Murray wrote that while the appeals court recognized the communications were ex parte, such communications "between a sitting judge and a prosecutor do not warrant a new trial so long as the communications focus on administrative or procedural (i.e. Message to the Board of Commissioners, Prosecutor Koch, Judge Kengis, Judge Bakker, Sheriff Baker and the people who witness unconstitutional and corrupt actions in Allegan County and do nothing.. The Michigan Supreme Court will ultimately decide after agreeing to hear oral arguments in the case of Daniel Loew. A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER . Herman was a member of the board of directors of the counseling center where Field worked and where some of the incidents took place. Ballotpedia features 395,436 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. Soon after election, she was appointed as chief judge, a position she has held for 11 years. Is any of the above incorrect? As the presiding officer of the court, a chief judge shall: (a) call and preside over meetings of the court; (b) appoint committees of the court; (c) initiate policies concerning the courts internal operations and its position on external matters affecting the court; (d) meet regularly with all chief judges.. Judge Kengis noted that Field will be sentenced before him on Friday, Sept. 10 in Cass County Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. Copyright 2023, Wilcox Newspapers. Judge Roberts Kengis is the new chief judge of the 48th Circuit Court in Allegan County. While he was a prosecutorinthe Allegan County Prosecutor's Office, he participated in discussions about the unsolved disappearance of Aundria Bowman with the Allegan County Sheriff's Office and a cold-case panel of other prosecutors and detectives in Lansing. The Michigan Supreme Court made their current appointments to the courts across the state. Judge Kengis handles all the case types that are dealt with in circuit court: criminal felonies, civil cases with a value over $25,000.00, divorce, custody, and paternity cases, personal protection order cases, child protective proceedings, guardianships, adoptions, and appeals from district court and administrative bodies. Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below. In November 2020, Allegan District Court JudgeWilliam Baillargeon's granted Loew'smotion for a new trial, saying such one-sided communications, called ex parte communications, between the judge and the prosecutor gave the appearance of impropriety. The investigation of Field began earlier that summer after the victim told college officials about Fields actions against her. Contact 48th Judicial Circuit Court 113 Chestnut St. Allegan, MI 49010 (269) 673-0300 Judges Honorable Roberts Kengis Chief Circuit Court Judge Honorable Margaret Zuzich Bakker Circuit Court Judge Honorable Michael Buck Presiding Family Court Judge Friday, Judge Kengis kept Fields bond the same. The case likely will be heard in 2023. Rob Kengis. Myrene Koch will replace Robert Kengis as Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney on March 19. The sentences run concurrently. Subscribe:Get unlimited access to our local coverage. Sarah Leach is editor of The Holland Sentinel. He buried Aundria's body on their property, later moving her body when the Bowmans moved from Holland to the Hamilton area shortly afterward. ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI -- Allegan County Prosecutor Rob Kengis has been appointed to a recently vacated judgeship with the Allegan County Circuit Court. Dont they have detectives with MSP anymore? ALLEGAN Judge Roberts Kengis took over supervision of the 48th Circuit Court on Jan. 1 as chief judge after he was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to replace Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker in the role. Bowman is already serving a life sentence for a murder he committed in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1980, where he had reported for his two-week annual active drill as a member of the Navy reserves. She said the counseling took place there and the sexual relations at Fields home next door to the center. In Wednesday's announcement, the state Supreme Court said it would hear the appeal, but would limit the scope to the ex parte communications between Bakker and Koch, whether they were administrative in nature and whether Loew is entitled to a new trial. Example video title will go here for this video. Generally, ex parte communications between a judge and only one party in a legal matter are prohibited by ethics codes for judges and attorneys because they can give an unfair advantage to one side in a case. Although Koch didn't directly prosecute the case for the county, she was the supervisor of the assistant prosecutor who did. Koch and her husband married in 1993. George Field, 60, of Dowagiac, had been scheduled to face trial starting Monday in Cass County Circuit Court on 17 criminal sexual conduct, insurance fraud and perjury charges. The two then exchanged several emails about the lack of a medical exam. Judges Elections Allegan County, Michigan Circuit Court 48th Circuit Court, Michigan Margaret Bakker (Chief judge) Kevin W. Cronin [1] District Court Michigan Fifty-seventh Judicial District Court William Baillargeon (Chief judge) Joseph S. Skocelas [2] Probate Court Allegan County Probate Court, Michigan Michael L. Buck [3] See also Through a Freedom of Information Act request, Villar obtained emails sent during Loews case between Koch and Bakker in which Bakker wrote to Koch regarding the police: (T)his trooper didnt do a very good investigation. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Allegan County Prosecutor Myrene Koch disagreed with the retrial order and said her office is considering an appeal. Michigan Court of Appeals Kengis was the chief prosecuting attorney when. Honorable Michael L. Buck . 2023 www.hollandsentinel.com. Download the WZZM 13 app now. To learn more about judicial selection in Michigan, click here. Michigan is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. non-substantive) matters.". It was after his arrest in November 2019 for Doyle's murder that he began asking to speak to detectives about the circumstances of Aundria'sdeath. Before taking the bench, Kengis served as the elected prosecuting attorney for Allegan County. He was convicted of five counts of criminal sexual misconduct and sentenced to at least 20 years in prison. The emails were something between idle chat and administrative communication.. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. This county is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates. In a hearing Thursday, Judge Roberts Kengis alerted the. On Wednesday, Oct. 5, the high court announced it would hear arguments in the case, but limited the scope to the ramifications of discovered communications where the presiding judge overseeing Loew's initial trial was sharing her opinion of the case through emails with the head prosecutor. Kengis replaces Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker who had been elected to the circuit court in 2010. ALLEGAN The judge assigned to oversee the trial of Dennis Bowman,accused of the murder of his adopted daughter Aundria 30 years ago, has recused himself because of his past involvement in the caseas a prosecutor. The people of Allegan County are served by the Michigan Third District Court of Appeals, a circuit court, district court, and probate court. He said Field will be given the opportunity to withdraw his plea if Kengis decides to sentence him to more than a year in jail or change any other terms of the agreement. Judges Jon Van Allsburg, Mark Feyen and Bradley Knoll were reappointed to two-year terms as chief judges of Ottawa County's 20th Circuit Court, Probate Court and 58th District Court, respectively. This trooper has been given additional personal training since this investigation., Bakker then wrote: One more question..this victim was not referred for a medical, do you know why?, Koch replied a few minutes later: Yes, because the prior (assistant prosecuting attorney) assigned to the case did not catch that it was missed nor did anyone else who touched the file., Lynch said that the ex parte communication, or communication with only one side, showed bias and violated the Code of Judicial Conduct. Assistant Allegan County Prosecutor Emily Jipp called a state police trooper as her second witness. 113 Chestnut Street, Allegan, MI49010 Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. She has been recognized for her volunteer work with South Haven Public Schools and the Allegan County Coordinating Council on Domestic and Sexual Violence. Lynch told The Sentinel on Friday the most recent decision to hear arguments indicates the high court's interest in issues it deems of "significant public concern.". Allegan County Circuit Judge Margaret Zuzich-Bakker (MLive File Photo)Emil Lippe | MLive.com. The emails were made public by Villar during the 2020 Republican primary for the Allegan prosecutor post. Kengis replaces Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker who had been elected to the circuit court in 2010. All Rights Reserved. Chief Circuit Court Judge, Honorable Margaret Zuzich Bakker Bowman told detectives thaton the day he reported 14-year-old Aundria missing, March 11, 1989, he came home to find Aundria had broken into her parents' room, normally kept locked, and was getting ready to run away. Lynch responded: Thats not the point. Allegan Attorney Michael Villar, who challenged Koch for her job in the August Republican primary, uncovered the emails in a Freedom of Information Act request. Share & Bookmark, Press Enter to show all options, press Tab go to next option, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests, Annual Reports and State of the County Report. ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI - A judge ordered a retrial for a man convicted of sexual assault because the trial judge emailed the county prosecutor - who was not trying the case - during. Allegan, MI 49010 *Please call to verify. Justices Christopher Murray and Jane Markey were in the majority, saying the emails didnt provide an advantage to the prosecution. She became a judge on Jan. 1, 2010. 113 Chestnut Street, Allegan, MI 49010 Allegan County Court System Type: Civil, General Civil - Unlimited, General Civil - Limited, Small Claims, Complex Commercial, Foreclosures and Liens, Real Estate Title and Boundary, Criminal, Mental Health Division: Contact Information: Phone Number: 269-673-0400 Fax: 269-673-0490 Jim Wheat, MD. Field has been free on $50,000 cash or surety bond since July 2018 after being held on a higher bond for several months after his arrest in September 2017. Marcia Johnson. He was elected to a six-year term in 2020. ALLEGAN Should a criminal defendant in Allegan County get a new trial after claiming he didn't get a fair shake? [1], If two or more candidates in a race receive the same number of votes, the election is to be decided by lot. Loew currently is free while awaiting the outcome of his appeal. *county-courthouse.com is not affiliated with the Official US Government, or any state, local, or federal office. ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI A judge ordered a retrial for a man convicted of sexual assault because the trial judge emailed the county prosecutor who was not trying the case during proceedings. 113 Chestnut St. Villar lost the primary election in August and a recount of votes conducted last week affirmed that Koch had won re-election by 19 votes. ", Bakker wrote back, "One more question this victim was not referred for a medical, do you know why?". The prosecutor said the emails and information were not shared with the assistant prosecutor trying the case. Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens. In response to the allegations brought by Loews attorney, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Molly Schikora said the three emails sent by the judge had no bearing on the case and were not intended to help the prosecution. Get unlimited access to our local coverage, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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