Judiciary Courts of the Stt can be contacted via phone at (269) 673-8471 for pricing, hours and directions. To learn more about judicial selection in Michigan, click here. 13 READS: Muskegon book store asking for help to stay open, continue to promote literacy, 13 On Your Side Forecast: Fog Thursday; Snowstorm Friday. Kengis and Bakker have worked closely together over the years when making final decisions on a variety of issues. Call, or visit the court's website if listed above. Although Koch didn't directly prosecute the case for the county, she was the supervisor of the assistant prosecutor who did. He buried Aundria's body on their property, later moving her body when the Bowmans moved from Holland to the Hamilton area shortly afterward. 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. Allegan County, All civil cases at law over $300., Civil cases in equity., Proceedings in habeas corpus., Felonies and misdemeanors, Proceedings in quo warranto., Prohibition and certiorari cases., Appeals from magistrate court, municipal court, and administrative agenc, Phone Number: 269-673-0300 Kengis was the chief prosecuting attorney when. http://www.allegancounty.org/Government/CC/Index.asp?pt=, The Public Access to Court Records (PACER), 36th Judicial Circuit Court Van Buren County. If there are not more than twice the amount of candidates than there are persons to be elected, the race will not appear on the primary election ballot, but only on the general election ballot. Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. 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.. A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER . 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. Allegan County Circuit Court Judge Roberts Kengis was asked to disqualify himself from the case and agreed to do so in a hearing Thursday. 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. In Allegan County, the presiding judge of the Family Court is the Honorable Michael L. Buck. Additional: Frederick Anderson (Prosecuting Attorney), Margaret Zuzich Bakker (Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney); Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys: Douglas E. Ketchum, Roberts A. Kengis, Steven J. Lanting, Myrene K. Koch, Daniel Norbeck, Judy H. Visit our Links Page for websites providing Employment Listings, as well as US Government holiday closings. 113 Chestnut St. Michigan Probate Courts, Courts in Michigan Michigan judicial elections Judicial selection in Michigan. He is being convicted of multiple sex offenses which will impact his getting teaching or counseling positions in the future., Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Pokagon Band celebrates Four Winds South Bend hotel expansion, Chamber of Commerce welcomes real estate firm to downtown Dowagiac, School safety gains, FFA students highlighted at Cassopolis Board of Education meeting, 2nd & Main coffeehouse opens in downtown Niles. In this case, she was comfortable with the agreement. Koch has served as an assistant prosecutor since July of 2002, and as the Chief Assistant Prosecutor since last June. Honorable Roberts A. Kengis . 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. 48th Judicial Circuit Court Briefs in the case are expected to be filed within the coming months, at which point oral arguments will be scheduled. 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. The plea agreement was announced Friday afternoon in a court hearing before Judge Roberts Kengis. 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. Villar, a private practice attorney, later lost the electionby a handful of votes. However, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed that decision in a split 2-1 opinion in January this year. All rights reserved (About Us). Field had been a popular instructor at the college before his dismissal. Allegan County Friend of the Court et al 1:2021cv00195 | US District Court for the Western District of Michigan | Justia Collet v. Allegan County Friend of the Court et al RSS Track this Docket Docket Report This docket was last retrieved on March 3, 2021. 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. In the motion for a new trial, the Defense team did not allege nor did the Judge cite any actual bias or impact on the integrity of the trial based on those communications.. While Koch said she did not talk to her assistant prosecutor about the judges remarks, Lynch said in court filings that APA Jipp had ample time to adjust her trial strategy and presentation of evidence to address concerns the judge voiced with remarkable candor., He said the trial transcript indicates that APA Jipp indeed addressed the issues raised by Judge Bakker.. 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. 1983 against the County of Allegan, the State of Michigan, Kevin Cronin, a former judge of the 48th Circuit Court in Allegan County, and Robert Kengis, a current judge of the 48th Circuit Court, alleging claims for denial of due process, cruel and unusual punishment His case was bound over for a jury trial in Allegan County's 48th Circuit Court last month. Soon after election, she was appointed as chief judge, a position she has held for 11 years. The half hour hearing Friday afternoon featured Field being sworn in and agreeing to the no contest pleas on the seven charges. Michigan Circuit Court The case has volleyed around the higher court system after Loew's conviction in August 2019. Koch was named to the position by Chief Circuit Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker, on Tuesday. Bakker did not submit a request to be reappointed which left an opening for Kengis. Loew currently is free while awaiting the outcome of his appeal. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2023, Wilcox Newspapers. ALLEGAN - Allegan County Commission chairman James Storey points out the Allegan circuit should have a third judge position. 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. Have a news tip? More:Hamilton man pleads guilty to 1980 murder of Virginia woman, More:Wife: Hamilton man killed their daughter in 1989, dismembered and buried body. 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. 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. Before that, she worked 28 years as an assistant prosecutor, the last eight as chief prosecutor. Myrene Koch will replace Robert Kengis as Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney on March 19. In 2020, Kengis was elected to the circuit court. Allegan County Sheriff's Office Sheriff. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach. Judge Kengis relied on the testimony from the 2018 preliminary hearing in the case for his findings of fact in accepting Fields plea. This trooper has been given additional personal training since this investigation. None of the communications were ever intended to influence or provide advice nor did they. We routinely discuss cases with the victims, said Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz. The case was tried by assistant prosecuting attorney Emily Jipp. The Michigan Supreme Court votes on the appointment of chief judges for Michigan courts every two years. Koch said in an email to MLive: "While I respect Judge Baillargeon, I disagree with the basis of his decision in granting a new trial. Beginning January 1, 2022, Judge Roberts Kengis assumed the chief judge leadership of the 48 th Circuit Court. The defense has not pointed to any ruling showing the judge to be compromised or biased, she said. Michigan is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. Judge Kengis noted that Field will be sentenced before him on Friday, Sept. 10 in Cass County Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. The murder was onlyconnected to Bowman in 2018 when detectives used a genealogy database searchingtechnique toidentify a DNA sample from the decades-old case. 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.". 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. Apply today! 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. Allegan County Circuit Court Judge. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. 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