Michigan Supreme Court Going Against the Will of the Voters Without Any Explanation

The administrators of the state's highest court have long admitted on their website:

The Supreme Court Administrative Office (SCAO) "cannot remove a judge from office. Voters can; they have the power to not re-elect a judge. The Michigan Supreme Court can remove a judge from office, but only after a Judicial Tenure Commission (JTC) proceeding. If a judge is found to have committed serious misconduct, the Michigan Supreme Court may then decide to remove that judge from office." 

The JTC notifies us on their website:   "In cases involving allegations of serious misconduct, the Commission typically institutes formal proceedings after the preliminary investigation is complete. When these proceedings are instituted the Examiner files a complaint based on the authorization of the Commission, which constitutes a formal statement of the charges, and the matter becomes public."

In reviewing the JTC's website, there is nothing at all regarding 26th Circuit Court Judge Michael Mack (pictured below) in any section, not in their pending complaints, not in formal complaints/disciplined judges, not anywhere.  Keep this all in mind when you read this article out of Alpena about Judge Mack being stripped of his position by the Michigan Supreme Court without any reason given to the public, and without any formal proceeding being used by the JTC or the Michigan Supreme Court, all while a secret, unfinished investigation in its third week is being performed by the state police.  

ALPENA- Judge Michael Mack has been suspended from hearing cases and is under investigation by the Michigan State Police for unknown reasons.


The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday removed Mack as chief judge in Alpena and Montmorency counties and appointed Montmorency County Probate Judge Benjamin Bolser to take his place at least through the end of the year.


Bolser then suspended Mack from the circuit court docket, meaning he can’t hear cases or issue rulings, Michigan Supreme Court spokesman John Nevin said.


Mack is also being investigated by the MSP 7th District Headquarters in Gaylord for possible unethical or criminal conduct, but Lt. Derrick Carroll said the department can’t release details into the ongoing investigation, which began about two weeks ago. He gave no timeline for how long the investigation could last.


Neither Mack nor Bolser could be reached for comment on Thursday.


It is still unclear who will preside over Mack’s 26th Circuit Court bench for ongoing cases.
Nevin said he had limited information about the case, but did say the usual procedure is for the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission to review and investigate any complaints against a judge, and then make a recommendation to the seven state Supreme Court justices, who can permanently remove a judge from office.


For a judge to be suspended from their docket, it usually has to be something serious,” Nevin said. “But I don’t know where the complaint came from or what it is at this time.”


Mack has been a judge in Alpena since being appointed in 2003 by then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm to the probate court in Montmorency County. He has been behind the bench in the 26th Circuit Court since 2009.


A chief judge is the lead administrative officer of the circuit, probate, and district courts for the designated districts and is appointed for two years. Bolser’s appointment is only until the end of the year and then the Supreme Court will need to decide what its next move will be.


It is right in the middle of that decision-making process now,” Nevin said. [END article]

If I was a voter in Alpena and Montmorency County, I would be looking for answers as to why the duly elected chief judge of the two counties is being stripped of his position in a manner that defies any sort of due process rights of the accused, or any of the rules established by the administrators of the state supreme court.  The term he was elected for ends officially at the end of next year.

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Sounds like some shaking going on up in Apena area and no official information being released. Local social media might be interesting. Mack has scheduled to retire in January. Maybe he wanted to stir things up before that?

Here's another news bite from the area regarding prosecutor Steiger. Wonder if the cases are related somehow?

https://www.thealpenanews.com/news/local-news/2019/11/former-prosec...

Freedom,  I did review all of the other media that had anything about Judge Mack and/or his removal, I even looked at the comments from the public (which sometimes has more leads).  He doesn't seem to have any prior issues out in the public domain, and the story I provided was the most thorough about the removal at this point in time.  Most do not quote the MSC spokesman (who really doesn't share much anyway), nor let us know that there's been an investigation underway for two weeks already.

When you see the higher courts acting with such secrecy, depressing their fellow judge's due process rights, it doesn't become surprising that their rulings in Michigan over the last couple of decades seem to be allowing public bodies the ability to bypass the Open Meetings Act and FOIA a lot easier than they should.  If a court can act out against its own rules to keep things out of the sight from the public, why expect them to judge fairly when somebody challenges other officials' clandestine activities?

Thanks for the insight, research and thorough reply X. It is bewildering how the quick "justice" (judgment) came about for Mack in this case and what has gone on behind the scenes. I agree that his actions should have the same justice and report as any other citizen. But your blog struck a thought on how can a totally vile judge be quickly removed if need be? (Not commenting on Mack, just a hypothetical question). The procedures in the JTC seem adequate but how long does this procedure take?

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