Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 1. The Michigan Court of Appeals disagreed in an opinion published Dec. 28, arguing that the dog's behavior did not fit the definition of a dangerous animal under Michigan law. }, Margaret Bakker is the chief judge of the 48th Circuit Court in Allegan County, Michigan. 1:07 ALLEGAN Attorney Mike Villar has filed complaints against current Allegan County Circuit Court Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker and current Allegan County Prosecutor Myrene Koch.. padding-left: 10px; chicken of the woods ottawa; how tall was prophet idris; how much money did hercules in new york make What caused the deadly train crash in Greece? This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Bakker files for re-election to Allegan County judgeship. Its the latest chapter in a dispute that resulted in intervention by the state Supreme Court. Bowman is not safe to be in our community, the judge said. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. ", Bakker wrote back, "One more question this victim was not referred for a medical, do you know why?". The biweekly print edition of GRBJ, a must-read for the area's top decision-makers, is known as the business newspaper of metro Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon and all of West Michigan. The short encounter came as relations between Washington and Moscow have plummeted while tensions over Russias war with Ukraine have soared. Staff from the Detroit College of Law in 1978. She was elected to this court on November 2, 2010, and took office on January 3, 2011. Allegan County Judge Kevin Cronin has taken the extraordinary step of asking the Michigan Supreme Court to intervene in a turf battle with Chief Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker. That was the catalyst that moved us forward, Fuller said. Allegan County has 118,000 people. He didnt ask for more time, but rather asked Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker to reorganize his Parenting Time to reflect that we live in Florida and that we cant afford multiple roundtrips from Michigan to Florida. I say this with a heavy heart because I am a woman, but to see a man and his child so unfairly losing really hits me hard down to my core. We spent months preparing for this one day that was going to change everyones lives. I encourage you to PLEASE SHARE. display: inline-block; .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 They had an on-again and off-again relationship since meeting when they were teenagers. In Allegan County Circuit Court Monday morning, Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker sentenced 75-year-old Dennis Bowman to 35 to 50 years in prison for second-degree murder in the death of his adopted daughter Aundria. Following that murder, Bowman wascharged with other crimes against women. Of course, these accusations came after my husband threatened to petition the court for visitation. This judge is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates. Search. Correspondence between the judges suggested that the hiring of the law clerk was not the only issue dividing the judges, who have adjacent offices in the county courthouse. display: inline-block; Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker clearly has biased and this prevents her from doing what she was appointed to do. This email chain is more than just "scheduling and administrative matters". After Cronin hired Anderson, Bakker said Anderson would be escorted out if he showed up for work. Koch previously told The Sentinel she never discussed the emails with Jipp. The emails were unearthed by Allegan-based attorney Michael Villar, who was challenging County Prosecutor Myrene Koch's re-election bid in summer 2020. He was convicted of five counts of criminal sexual misconduct and sentenced to at least 20 years in prison. } Judicial races in Ottawa and Allegan counties will start to take shape over the next few months ahead of the Aug. 2 statewide primary election. Bakker joined the Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney's Office in March 1982. He was not given the mid-week visit, and he had to bargain some of his summer Parenting Time just to get Joint Legal custody which was at Aneashas discretion NOT Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker. .courts-header { font-size:150%;background-color:#334aab;color:white;} ALLEGAN Should a criminal defendant in Allegan County get a new trial after claiming he didn't get a fair shake? "We think the court wants to hear and have robust conversations on these issues. ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI Allegan County Circuit Judge Kevin Cronin is suing the county over its refusal to pay his attorney fees in a legal spat with his colleague and chief judge, Margaret Zuzich-Bakker. It was a full-house in Allegan County court. The Michigan Supreme Court votes on the appointment of chief judges for Michigan courts every two years. It got to the point that Aneasha cut all contact with my husband refusing him access and contact to Cheyanna. [7] Sitting judges who reach age 70 are allowed to serve out the remainder of their term. Home equity loans vs HELOCs: Both are seeing big growth. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Our Mission Judge Barkman and Judge Schlegel are assigned to this division. Dennis Bowman was the suspect in Aundrias disappearance for many years; however, despite numerous search warrants, interviews and searches of his property by law enforcement, no evidence was located at those times to link him to her murder, Koch said. In another instance, Villar said the emails showed ex parte (one-sided) communication between Bakker and Koch during a trial, in which Villar claims Bakker asked Koch for additional evidence about the case that was not presented to the jury or defense attorney. Judge Bakker and Judge Kengis are former prosecutors in Allegan County. Judges Hon. Allegan County will soon have a new Prosecuting Attorney. Fuller said when Smith approached him, he was already familiar with Aundrias case. Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at cmuyskens@hollandsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens. background-color: #f9f9f9; margin-top: 1px; The current Prosecutor was hand-selected and appointed by Circuit Judge Margaret Bakker in March of this year without any application process whatsoever. It is the juror's civic duty to appear for jury. This joint endeavor eventually culminated in the confession of Dennis Bowman for the death and dismemberment of Aundria, Koch said. Reprints .widget-row.value-only.white { "Their growing involvement in an armed confrontation is fraught with a direct military clash of nuclear powers with catastrophic consequences. The emails were made public by Villar during the 2020 Republican primary for the Allegan prosecutor post. It turns out that Judge Margaret Zuzich-Bakker sent emails to prosecutor Myrene Koch during the trial, asking a. The Norfolk detective had DNA evidence from the scene of a homicide in Virginia, but no suspect to compare it to. In the email, Bakker wrote the resentencing was ridiculous in my humble opinion, when she was the judge who would be resentencing the defendant in question. The server is misbehaving. Girls high school basketball team forfeits a game because it refused to play against a team with a transgender player, Fox Leaders Wanted to Break From Trump but Struggled to Make It Happen, Not Going to Read That: White House Press Secretary Brushes Off DeSantis Op-Ed, Sunshine returns to SoCal on Thursday but cold temps stick around, Think Twice Before Buying From These 2 Stores, AccuWeather: AM showers before a mild afternoon, Comptroller introduces legislative agenda focused on helping taxpayers, Morning First Alert Weather Update: March 1, 2023. Edick said grievances about ex parte communications are generally investigated. He obtained the emails through a Freedom of Information Act request. Ballotpedia features 395,443 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach. In the end, an agreement allows Cronin to hire his own law clerk, as long as the candidate is qualified and isnt Chris Anderson. "At 14-years-old,.

} He sought to handle the dispute in good faith with minimal cost to Allegan County but was rebuffed.. Margaret Bakker Allegan County Hon. Yes, we had proof demonstrating why he wasnt a stable factor due to Aneashas own hidden agendas. Helping you succeed in business since 1983. Instead, my husband was awarded less than minimum Parenting Time. Allan explained that the Allegan County Legal Assistance Center which has been in operation since 2012, we have Judge Bakker, Sheriff Baker, Linda Teeter and Avery Rose from Probate Court present tonight. Government, Organizations fighting for Parent's rights, ANY support. 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. .widget-row { Its unfortunate for those people (my personal opinion is MEN) who are trapped in her biased, and man hating ways. He sues the following employees of Allegan County: Circuit Court Judge Margaret Bakker, Magistrate Judge Kirby J. Goodwin, Detective Chris Koster, Chief Prosecuting Attorney Frederick Anderson, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Myrene Koch, Court Reporter Anne Lang, Child Protective Services (CPS) Caseworker Amanda Cherian, and Sergeant Christopher U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met briefly Thursday at a meeting of top diplomats from the Group of 20 nations in the first high-level meeting in months between the two countries. They are fair and reasonable circuit court judges . Apply today! Judge Joseph S. Skocelas is the other district court judge. } Defendant, Margaret Zuzich Bakker (Judge Bakker), is a duly elected judge of the 48th Circuit Court in Allegan County, Michigan and is presently the chief judge of Cronin's attorney, Douglas Van Essen, said that he can certainly recognize a court labor mess when I see it, and this may be one in a class of its own., He asked the Supreme Court to intervene early on when Cronin could not convince county officials that the dispute should be mediated. Bowman and his wife adopted Aundria as a baby. 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. Michigan Probate Courts, Courts in Michigan Michigan judicial elections Judicial selection in Michigan. The reason ex parte communications are frowned on, is the judge is supposed to be a neutral decision maker and the whole concept of a court case is that in order to give due process, its important for each person to understand what is being told to the judge regarding the matter so they can respond and address whatever is alleged against them. According to the state's Dangerous Animals Act, a dangerous animal is a dog or other animal that bites or attacks a person, or a dog that bites or attacks and causes serious injury or death to another dog while the other dog is on the property or under the control of its owner. The case has volleyed around the higher court system after Loew's conviction in August 2019. A circuit court judge in Allegan County affirmed the order when Tato's owners, Katie and Ray Lopez, appealed. Cronin and Bakker are the only Circuit Court judges in Allegan County, southwest of Grand Rapids, but Bakker is the chief judge. LANSING The Michigan Court of Appeals has intervened in the case of an Allegan County couple's pit bull, Tato, reversing an order to euthanize the animal after it bit another dog. 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. Allegan County 48th Circuit Court Hon. font-size: .9em; Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Candidates are placed on the ballot via nonpartisan primaries or by nominating petitions. Beyond the law-clerk fiasco, Bakker told Cronin to stop ordering costly transcripts of court hearings, and stop setting 5 p.m. hearings that kept workers late and left the building without security officers. } font-weight: bold; Offline . My husband and his daughters mother were never married. vertical-align: top; Cronin considered Anderson the most qualified, despite any issues Bakker had with him. Locate a virtual courtroom by Judge or Hearing Officer.