.courts-header { font-size:150%;background-color:#334aab;color:white;} She became a judge on Jan. 1, 2010. 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 votes on the appointment of chief judges for Michigan courts every two years. The appeal was heard by Allegan County District Judge William Baillargeon. 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. The case will be reassigned to Judge Margaret Bakker. 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. if(document.getElementsByClassName("reference").length==0) if(document.getElementById('Footnotes')!==null) document.getElementById('Footnotes').parentNode.style.display = 'none'; .courts-container { background-color:#fcfcfc; width:100%; border:1px solid black;padding:5px;text-align:center;clear:both; } Judge Bakker says, "Myrene has demonstrated an outstanding ability to represent the peoples interests in criminal prosecutions before this Court and as Chief Assistant has demonstrated strong administrative abilities that will serve her and the County of Allegan well as Prosecutor.. Kengis and Bakker have worked closely together over the years when making final decisions on a variety of issues. Ex parte translates from Latin to mean out of the party; in the context of the legal system, it is communication about a case between a judge and one sides attorney that occurs without the other partys counsel present. The emails between Koch and Judge Margaret Bakker showed the two discussing the case while Loew's trial was occurring in Bakker's courtroom. 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. Michigan Probate Courts, Courts in Michigan Michigan judicial elections Judicial selection in Michigan. Ascension Borgess Allegan Foundation Director . Assistant Allegan County Prosecutor Emily Jipp called a state police trooper as her second witness. The victim was 13 at the time of the first reported assault. Bowman says he hid Aundria's body in a barn on the property and called police to report that she had run away. Aundria Bowman's body was discovered buried on the Bowmanproperty in Hamilton in February 2020, after Dennis Bowman confessed the location of her body to his wife. He was sentenced last November to at least 20 years in prison. 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. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. The same date Kengis starts as a Circuit Judge. Example video title will go here for this video. 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. "We think the court wants to hear and have robust conversations on these issues. Bakker was Allegan Countys first female circuit court judge. Presiding Family Court Judge, Allegan County, Michigan
Bakker was Allegan County's first female circuit court judge. SMC completed its investigation in late September 2017 when they fired Field. Subscribe: Get unlimited access to our local coverage. 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. The Michigan Supreme Court made their current appointments to the courts across the state. Bakker did not apply for reappointment in this appointment cycle, circuit court administrator Jennifer Brink said, and supported Kengis's application for chief judge in a letter to the Michigan Supreme Court. Dont they have detectives anymore?, The next morning, Koch replied: They do but not typically for CSCs. By using this website, you agree to comply with all of the terms of use . Allegan County Circuit Court Judge Roberts Kengis was asked to disqualify himself from the case and agreed to do so in a hearing Thursday. Honorable Michael L. Buck . Kengis was the chief prosecuting attorney when Loew was charged with criminal sexual conduct in 2018. Copyright 2023, Wilcox Newspapers. Allegan, MI 49010
The plea agreement was announced Friday afternoon in a court hearing before Judge Roberts Kengis. Montenegro said the agreement calls for Field to be sentenced to a term of probation, a county jail sentence not to exceed one year and no requirement to register as a sex offender. According to testimony from detectives, Bowman claimsthat he and Aundria physically fought and Aundria fell down the stairs, breaking herneck. Judge Kengis relied on the testimony from the 2018 preliminary hearing in the case for his findings of fact in accepting Fields plea. Koch and her husband married in 1993. The defense has not pointed to any ruling showing the judge to be compromised or biased, she said. A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER . 100 largest cities in America by population, United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Michigan Fifty-seventh Judicial District Court, Michigan local trial court judicial elections, 2023, Michigan local trial court judicial elections, 2022, Michigan local trial court judicial elections, 2021, Michigan local trial court judicial elections, 2020, Michigan local trial court judicial elections, 2019, Michigan local trial court judicial elections, 2018, Michigan local trial court judicial elections, 2017, Michigan local trial court judicial elections, 2016, https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Allegan_County,_Michigan_(Judicial)&oldid=7667650, Conflicts in school board elections, 2021-2022, Special Congressional elections (2023-2024), 2022 Congressional Competitiveness Report, State Executive Competitiveness Report, 2022, State Legislative Competitiveness Report, 2022, Partisanship in 2022 United States local elections. Myrene Koch will replace Robert Kengis as Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney on March 19. 13 READS: Muskegon book store asking for help to stay open, continue to promote literacy, 13 On Your Side Forecast: Fog Thursday; Snowstorm Friday. Contact Info (269) 673-8471 Questions & Answers Q What is the phone number for Judiciary Courts of the Stt? Beginning January 1, 2022, Judge Roberts Kengis assumed the chief judge leadership of the 48 th Circuit Court. Friday, Judge Kengis kept Fields bond the same. Bowman strangled and stabbed a 25-year-old woman, Kathleen O'Brien Doyle,in her home. 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. 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. The Michigan Supreme Court votes on the appointment of chief judges for Michigan courts every two years after "an extensive review process," according to the State Court Administrative Office. In the nonpartisan primary, the two candidates who receive the greatest number of votes advance to the general election. Circuit Court Judge, Honorable Michael Buck
YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. 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. 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.. Jan Murray. 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. Dont they have detectives with MSP anymore? 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. 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 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. Honorable Roberts A. Kengis . The murder was onlyconnected to Bowman in 2018 when detectives used a genealogy database searchingtechnique toidentify a DNA sample from the decades-old case. ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI -- Allegan County Prosecutor Rob Kengis has been appointed to a recently vacated judgeship with the Allegan County Circuit Court. They claim that Loew did not receive a fair trial. The people of Allegan County are served by the Michigan Third District Court of Appeals, a circuit court, district court, and probate court. Subscribe:Receive 3 months of all-access to The Sentinel's award-winning digital coverage for $1. 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. Allegan County Prosecutor Myrene Koch disagreed with the retrial order and said her office is considering an appeal. Briefs in the case are expected to be filed within the coming months, at which point oral arguments will be scheduled. Before taking the bench, Kengis served as the elected prosecuting attorney for Allegan County. *county-courthouse.com is not affiliated with the Official US Government, or any state, local, or federal office. 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. Field had been a popular instructor at the college before his dismissal. "Whenever an issue arises or a policy decision needs to be made, Judge Bakker and Judge Kengis always discuss the matter prior to the chief making the final decision.". The jury was thereby improperly influenced.. Bakker, who remains on the bench, served in the role for 11 years. Chief Circuit Court Judge, Honorable Margaret Zuzich Bakker
*Please call to verify. This county is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates. Bakker was immediately appointed chief judge and served 11 years as chief judge. Judge Kengis noted that Field will be sentenced before him on Friday, Sept. 10 in Cass County Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. All rights reserved (About Us). In a hearing Thursday, Judge Roberts Kengis alerted the. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. His case was bound over for a jury trial in Allegan County's 48th Circuit Court last month. http://www.allegancounty.org/Government/CC/Index.asp?pt=, The Public Access to Court Records (PACER), 36th Judicial Circuit Court Van Buren County. 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 ", Bakker wrote back, "One more question this victim was not referred for a medical, do you know why?". We routinely discuss cases with the victims, said Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz. The emails were unearthed by Allegan-based attorney Michael Villar, who was challenging County Prosecutor Myrene Koch's re-election bid in summer 2020. Receive the greatest number of votes advance to the Courts across the state at least 20 years in.... 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