Dear Commissioners,
I was quite surprised to hear that Commissioner Paunovich spoke out in opposition to county residents being allowed to criticize county judges after my comments at Monday’s BOC meetings. I have not had time to listen to the recording yet, but I understand that Commissioner Mel Paunovich’s argument is based on the idea that the BOC does not exercise operational control over court personnel, only funding control.
That would be ironic, since Monday night another resident also spoke out on road funding issues and the LC BOC doesn’t exercise operational OR funding control over Road Commission employees, yet road problems are probably the most common issue residents bring to the BOC as a whole or individually. I have never heard a commissioner suggest that residents shouldn’t be able to complain about the roads during Call to the Public.
The Courts and the Livingston County Sheriff Office consume well over 50% of the county’s general fund budget. Commissioners don’t exercise operational control over LCSO employees, either and like the judges our Sheriff is a county-wide elected official.
Is Commissioner Mel Paunovich contending that citizens should not be allowed to complain about how over half of their county tax dollars are spent?
The LC BOC homepage proudly proclaims that we live in “A Constitutional County.”
The Founding Fathers who wrote and ratified the Constitution did indeed create three separate and distinct branches of government, but they did NOT designate any of the branches as the one who should be exempt from criticism. If that was the case, judges at every level would be elected or appointed for life. Nor does the Constitution limit citizens’ ability to criticize judges to the election season, since just like commissioners, judges are essentially running for re-election from the beginning to the end of their term. Per Michigan law, Judges are allowed to strictly control speech in their courtroom. As Judge Longsworth likes to say, “We are not having a discussion.” People involved with the courts are prohibited from communicating directly with the judge outside of the courtroom as well. Ask me how I know. The only free speech avenues remaining are letters to the editor and call to the public at various public meetings, which is why the Michigan law requires call to the public requirements in Acts 388 and 267 of 1976, both passed in 1976. Not exactly ancient history.
When I served as a Livingston County Commissioner, the Michigan Association of Counties (MAC) conferences often featured speakers from the Michigan State Court Administrative Office (SCAO), either as a headliner or host of breakout sessions. The SCAO Administrator would often attend in person. That level of involvement with MAC is a clear indication that Michigan courts do acknowledge the role county commissioners do have in the administration and success or failure of county courts.
I was able to meet privately with former Michigan State Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack after she spoke at a Michigan Farm Bureau conference in Grand Rapids. We discussed Michigan court accessibility barriers described to me by
Livingston County residents. It was after that discussion and before she left office that Chief Justice McCormack changed the court rules to allow regular citizens and not just employees and attorneys to bring cell phones and laptops into the courtroom. I only wish that Chief Justice McCormack would have also granted my other request, that Michigan courts be required to allow participants to purchase recordings of their own court sessions. That was the practice in Livingston County before the Board of Commissioners voted to fund the conversion from VHS tape to digital recordings. I did vote to fund that project and that is one vote I regret.
If Livingston County residents were allowed to see what was taking place in the Brighton courtroom in the 2010s and what is happening now, I wouldn’t have to raise my concerns at call to the public. If any of you Commissioners would like to watch recordings of the court sessions I was part of, I will make time to meet you at the Judicial Center and watch them with you.
If any of you still think that Livingston County residents should just trust in the courts to do the right thing and that criticizing a sitting judge is somehow crass, I suggest you read up on the Rowan Morey case in neighboring Shiawassee County.
Rowan’s mother is quoted as saying “I was not taken seriously for a very long time. I was treated like I was being overbearing. But now I feel like I didn’t do enough.”
Think about the mental torture that woman is going to have to deal with for the rest of her life. Rowan’s stepfather tried to help protect the boy as well but was shut down, just as Judge Susan Longsworth is trying to shut me down now.
You are welcome to contact me with questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Steve Williams
Marion Township
