The appeal was heard by Allegan County District Judge William Baillargeon. *Please call to verify. On Jan. 1, the Michigan Supreme Court announced Judge Roberts Kengis would replace Bakker in supervising the 48th Circuit Court. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Myrene Koch will replace Robert Kengis as Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney on March 19. Rick Snyder on Wednesday, Feb. 28 . The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan has jurisdiction in Allegan County. I will add that this case was decided by a jury based on the evidence presented in the courtroom. Ballotpedia features 395,436 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. Koch previously told The Sentinel she never discussed the emails with Jipp. Koch was named to the position by Chief Circuit Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker, on Tuesday. Dont they have detectives with MSP anymore? AGC investigations are confidential, and investigations of the Judicial Tenure Commission only become public if the commission decides to proceed with a formal complaint against the judge, typically reserved for allegations of serious misconduct. Sarah Leach is editor of The Holland Sentinel. Its one of the most outrageous things Ive seen in my career, defense attorney Heath Lynch, a former federal prosecutor in Grand Rapids, told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Assistant Allegan County Prosecutor Emily Jipp called a state police trooper as her second witness. The status of those grievances is unknown, as the merits of Loew's appeal are still pending. In August, Bakker also recused herself from hearing the motion for a new trial. The jury was thereby improperly influenced.. Presiding Family Court Judge, Allegan County, Michigan The communications provided nothing of any tactical use to the prosecution, even if Defendant had been able to show Ms. Jipp was aware of them. 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. Allegan County will soon have a new Prosecuting Attorney. Interns wanted: Get paid to help ensure that every voter has unbiased election information. He buried Aundria's body on their property, later moving her body when the Bowmans moved from Holland to the Hamilton area shortly afterward. Bowman strangled and stabbed a 25-year-old woman, Kathleen O'Brien Doyle,in her home. Bowman, 72, is charged with her murder. The emails were made public by Villar during the 2020 Republican primary for the Allegan prosecutor post. 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. http://www.allegancounty.org/Government/CC/Index.asp?pt=, The Public Access to Court Records (PACER), 36th Judicial Circuit Court Van Buren County. The victim was 13 at the time of the first reported assault. The same date Kengis starts as a Circuit Judge. Judiciary Courts of the Stt is located at 113 Chestnut St in Allegan, Michigan 49010. Allegan County Sheriff's Office Sheriff. Bakker, who remains on the bench, served in the role for 11. The defense said the emails show misconduct. Appeals court walks back new trial for man after prosecutor, judge emailed during trial, Man wins new trial over email exchange between judge, prosecutor, Judges recused from hearing mans request for new trial, Allegan man says judge, prosecutor denied him a fair trial, Get unlimited access to our local coverage, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The half hour hearing Friday afternoon featured Field being sworn in and agreeing to the no contest pleas on the seven charges. 57th District Court Honorable Joseph S . Michigan Circuit Court 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 said during Thursdays hearing that the hearing would likely be reassigned next to a judge in Allegan Countys 57th District Court. 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. 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. The Michigan Supreme Court made their current appointments to the courts across the state. The two then exchanged several emails about the lack of a medical exam. Jennifer Garcia. Friday, Judge Kengis kept Fields bond the same. In Allegan County, the presiding judge of the Family Court is the Honorable Michael L. Buck. Michigan is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. Dont they have detectives anymore?, The next morning, Koch replied: They do but not typically for CSCs. She said the counseling took place there and the sexual relations at Fields home next door to the center. Subscribe:Receive 3 months of all-access to The Sentinel's award-winning digital coverage for $1. Neither side objected in court to Kengis'decision to recuse himself. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach. 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. Beginning January 1, 2022, Judge Roberts Kengis assumed the chief judge leadership of the 48 th Circuit Court. In August 2019, Loew was convicted by a jury of multiple rapes of a relative of his wife, a girl who was 13 at the time of the first assault. 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. Betty Kortman . The Michigan Supreme Court will ultimately decide after agreeing to hear oral arguments in the case of Daniel Loew. *Not location specific. 3283 122nd Ave. 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. (269) 673-0300, Honorable Roberts Kengis 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. Call, or visit the court's website if listed above. 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.". 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 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. According to testimony from detectives, Bowman claimsthat he and Aundria physically fought and Aundria fell down the stairs, breaking herneck. Bakker did not submit a request to be reappointed which left an opening for Kengis. 269-226-5014. craig.chindemi@ascension.org. His case was bound over for a jury trial in Allegan County's 48th Circuit Court last month. 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. If you would like to help our coverage scope grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia. 2023 www.hollandsentinel.com. "We think the court wants to hear and have robust conversations on these issues. In this case, she was comfortable with the agreement. The emails were something between idle chat and administrative communication.. The emails from Judge Bakker were an editorial expressing discontent with the case and as inquiry as to the breakdown in police and procedure that compromised the investigation, Schikora wrote in court documents. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, Villar obtained emails sent during Loews case between Koch and Bakker in which Bakker wrote to Koch regarding the police: (T)his trooper didnt do a very good investigation. Kengis was the chief prosecuting attorney when Loew was charged with criminal sexual conduct in 2018. 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. 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. 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. Copyright 2023, Wilcox Newspapers. The same date Kengis starts as a Circuit Judge. Herman was a member of the board of directors of the counseling center where Field worked and where some of the incidents took place. He was sentenced to a minimum 20 years in prison on each charge. "Since Judge Kengis was appointed, Judge Bakker and Judge Kengis have worked together on chief duties, and the two plan on continuing this practice moving forward," Brink wrote in an email. Koch and her husband married in 1993. The prosecutor said the emails and information were not shared with the assistant prosecutor trying the case. 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. Judge Kengis handles all the case types that are dealt with in circuit court: criminal felonies, civil cases with a value over $25,000.00, divorce, custody, and paternity cases, personal protection order cases, child protective proceedings, guardianships, adoptions, and appeals from district court and administrative bodies. Subscribe: Get unlimited access to our local coverage. Bakker was Allegan County's first female circuit court judge. 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