[nfbmi-talk] ingham judges out in force

[joe harcz Comcast]

Ingham judges out in force to oppose Court of Claims bill By Paul Egan Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau Several Ingham County Circuit Court judges were

awaiting a noon House committee hearing where they plan to oppose a bill that is on a fast track through the Legislature and would strip their court of

much of its jurisdiction. Senate Bill 652, passed by the Senate last week on a party line vote with Republicans in the majority, would move the Court of

Claims out of Ingham County Circuit Court into the Michigan Court of Appeals. The Michigan Supreme Court - where Republican-nominated justices hold a 5-2

majority - would designate four appeals court judges from at least two appellate districts to hear Court of Claims cases. Whenever a Court of Claims case

is filed, it would be assigned to one of those four judges through a blind draw. Today the House Government Operations Committee is to consider the bill.

Its chairman, Rep. Pete Lund, R-Shelby Township, has said he hopes to report it out today. Chief Ingham Circuit Judge Janelle Lawless and Judges Rosemarie

Aquilina, Joyce Draganchuk, James Jamo, William Collette, and Laura Baird were all in the committee room about 15 minutes before the scheduled noon start.

Proponents of the bill say it makes no sense for court cases affecting the entire state to be decided by judges elected in a single county. They say the

fact that Ingham County leans Democratic is not a factor in the proposed shake-up. Opponents say the bill is a partisan attack on the independence of the

judiciary. They say the bill is also fraught with technical difficulties, such as the fact the Court of Appeals is not a trial court and is not well equipped

for jury trials and witness testimony, and the fact appeals would go from one Court of Appeals judge to a panel of three other Court of Appeals judges.

They say expansive wording in the bill would greatly expand the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims, which now hears cases in which plaintiffs seek monetary

damages from the state for alleged torts. Under the new set-up, they say the four designated Court of Appeals judges would hear state civil rights, whistle-blower,

environmental, Open Meetings Act, and Freedom of Information Act cases, among others. Depending on the scope of any expanded jurisdiction, the bill could

cost the Ingham County Circuit Court between about $150,000 and close to $500,000 in annual funding. Attorney General Bill Schuette supports the bill because

it "provides for a broader review from judges throughout the State of Michigan," spokeswoman Joy Yearout said. Ingham County Circuit Jude Rosemarie Aquilina

said the bill violates several constitutional principles, including the separation of powers between the three branches of government. "It's not a justice

system when the Legislature wears robes," Aquilina told the Free Press.