Honorable Michael L. Buck . Please enable JavaScript in your browser for a better user experience. Rick Snyder on Wednesday, Feb. 28 . Michigan District Courts Bakker, who remains on the 48th Circuit Court bench, became Allegan County's first female circuit court judge when she won election to the position in 2010. Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at cmuyskens@hollandsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens. Koch previously told The Sentinel she never discussed the emails with Jipp. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach. Bakker was Allegan Countys first female circuit court judge. Dobrich said Allegan Circuit Judge Roberts Kengis will preside over the trial, which will take place in Cassopolis. Community Volunteer . Bowman says he hid Aundria's body in a barn on the property and called police to report that she had run away. He buried Aundria's body on their property, later moving her body when the Bowmans moved from Holland to the Hamilton area shortly afterward. In the same order appointing Kengis, the Court also reappointed Judge Michael Buck to chief probate court judge for Allegan County and Judge Joseph Skocelas to chief judge of the 57th District Court. Judiciary Courts of the Stt is located at 113 Chestnut St in Allegan, Michigan 49010. Under the plea agreement announced by Chief Assistant Prosecutor Tiffiny Montenegro and defense attorney James Miller, Field will plead no contest to three counts of attempted aggravated indecent exposure, one count of perjury, one count of unauthorized practice of a health profession, one count of health care fraud and one count of possession of marijuana. If you would like to help our coverage scope grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia. Michigan is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. Call, or visit the court's website if listed above. Myrene Koch will take over for current prosecutor, Roberts Kengis on March 19. Judge Kengis relied on the testimony from the 2018 preliminary hearing in the case for his findings of fact in accepting Fields plea. The people of Allegan County are served by the Michigan Third District Court of Appeals, a circuit court, district court, and probate court. Subscribe: Get unlimited access to our local coverage. 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. CASSOPOLIS A former Southwestern Michigan College instructor accused of having improper relations with a student he was counseling has accepted a plea deal just days before his trial was to start. The appeal was heard by Allegan County District Judge William Baillargeon. The Michigan Supreme Court made their current appointments to the courts across the state. They have four children. Myrene Koch will replace Robert Kengis as Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney on March 19. All rights reserved (About Us). The jury was thereby improperly influenced.. Koch was named to the position by Chief Circuit Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker, on Tuesday. 3283 122nd Ave. 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. Get unlimited access to our local coverage, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Judge Kengis used previous testimony and evidence to show that Field committed perjury when he testified that he had not had sex with the victim, that he had held himself out as a licensed health practitioner when he wasnt, presented a false insurance claim for services rendered to another person, possessed marijuana in his home in 2017 and attempted to commit indecent exposure against the victim. My office is contemplating an appeal. 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. Judge Kengis noted that Field will be sentenced before him on Friday, Sept. 10 in Cass County Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. .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 Allegan County Circuit Judge Margaret Zuzich-Bakker (MLive File Photo)Emil Lippe | MLive.com. Let us know here, 57th District Court Allegan County113 Chestnut Street0.0 mile away, Allegan County Probate Court2243 33rd Street2.2 miles away, 36th Judicial Circuit Court Van Buren CountyCourthouse - Second Floor, 212 East Paw Paw Street12.6 miles away, 2023 Everything-Bytes | Terms of Use & Privacy Policy. Community Volunteer . Loew's attorney, Heath Lynch, argued it's impossible to know whether Koch shared the communications with Jipp and whether trial strategy was altered due to what Bakker wrote in the emails. Plaintiff Jonathan King Meyer filed a pro se complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Bakker was immediately appointed chief judge and served 11 years as chief judge. Services The Circuit Court Family Division provides the following services: Delinquency Proceedings Casework services -- Community Probation and Juvenile Diversion Protective Proceedings Guardianship of minors who are already under Family Court jurisdiction Interns wanted: Get paid to help ensure that every voter has unbiased election information. None of the communications were ever intended to influence or provide advice nor did they. Circuit Court Judge, Honorable Michael Buck During the runup to the primary election in August, prosecutorial candidate Michael Villar accused his opponent, incumbent prosecutor Myrene Koch, of inappropriate ex parte communications with Judge Margaret Bakker. Roberts Kengis Circuit Court Judge at Allegan County Government Plainwell, Michigan, United States 781 followers 500+ connections Join to connect Allegan County Government Wayne State. Appeals from the Western District go to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. The emails from Judge Bakker were an editorial expressing discontent with the case and as inquiry as to the breakdown in police and procedure that compromised the investigation, Schikora wrote in court documents. The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan has jurisdiction in Allegan County. The status of those grievances is unknown, as the merits of Loew's appeal are still pending. By using this website, you agree to comply with all of the terms of use . A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER . Michigan Court of Appeals To learn more about judicial selection in Michigan, click here. Presiding Family Court Judge, Allegan County, Michigan 2023 www.hollandsentinel.com. However, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed that decision in a split 2-1 opinion in January this year. Sarah Leach is editor of The Holland Sentinel. non-substantive) matters.". 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. In 2020, Kengis was elected to the circuit court. ALLEGAN Two Allegan County judges have recused themselves from hearing the case of Daniel Loew, who is asking for a new trial after emails between the judge and the Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney were released during the prosecutors re-election campaign. 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 The two then exchanged several emails about the lack of a medical exam. Friday, Judge Kengis kept Fields bond the same. Jan Murray. Loews attorneys are alleging prosecutorial misconduct occurred based on the emails, which they say they learned of in June. Beginning January 1, 2022, Judge Roberts Kengis assumed the chief judge leadership of the 48 th Circuit Court. 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. 113 Chestnut Street, Allegan, MI49010 The Allegan County decisions included the new appointment of the Honorable Roberts A. Kengis as chief justice of the 48 th Circuit Court, and the chief judge reappointment of the Honorable Michael L. Buck to the Allegan County Probate Court and the Honorable Joseph S. Skocelas to the 57 th District Court. Jim Wheat, MD. The same date Kengis starts as a Circuit Judge. She said the counseling took place there and the sexual relations at Fields home next door to the center. If any of these apply to you, contact the court to verify they observe the exemption. Justices Christopher Murray and Jane Markey were in the majority, saying the emails didnt provide an advantage to the prosecution. Koch has served as an assistant prosecutor since July of 2002, and as the Chief Assistant Prosecutor since last June. His case was bound over for a jury trial in Allegan County's 48th Circuit Court last month. ALLEGAN Should a criminal defendant in Allegan County get a new trial after claiming he didn't get a fair shake? In the emails, Bakker wrote to Koch: "This trooper didnt do a very good investigation. Hours: Open Weekdays 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Neither side objected in court to Kengis'decision to recuse himself. Field had been a popular instructor at the college before his dismissal. Daniel Albert Loew, 26, was convicted by an Allegan County Circuit Court jury of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC), two counts of third-degree CSC and a single count of second-degree CSC. Appeals court walks back new trial for man after prosecutor, judge emailed during trial, Man wins new trial over email exchange between judge, prosecutor, Judges recused from hearing mans request for new trial, Allegan man says judge, prosecutor denied him a fair trial, Get unlimited access to our local coverage, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. This county is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates. Rob Kengis. 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. 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 -- Allegan County Prosecutor Rob Kengis has been appointed to a recently vacated judgeship with the Allegan County Circuit 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. Marcia Johnson. Michigan Circuit Court 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. Kengis replaces Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker who had been elected to the circuit court in 2010. In the nonpartisan primary, the two candidates who receive the greatest number of votes advance to the general election. More:Hamilton man pleads guilty to 1980 murder of Virginia woman, More:Wife: Hamilton man killed their daughter in 1989, dismembered and buried body. 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