This is not legal advice; it’s survival guidance from someone who has learned, repeatedly, how the system actually responds.
I lamented in a previous post that society tells you the system is fair. Spoiler alert – and I’m going to guess if you found your way here, you already know this, but I very much regret to inform you, it absolutely is not fair.
Sadly, that is the way the cookie crumbles in the Michigan criminal justice system and across the country. Short of being rich and famous, it’s essentially impossible to get actual justice in the system.
Consider Donald Trump getting away with, well, everything. Consider Hunter Biden being pardoned. Both sides are hypocrites, more or less.
So, my recommendation is to stop torturing yourself. You may literally go crazy trying to understand it or make sense of it. Instead, take my advice.
The Attorney General, the Governor, the court system, do not AT ALL care what happened to you; stop asking them for help.
…Unless it politically benefits them; and that’s different, they will be all over it.
But the majority of the time, they will go to great lengths to protect each other because they NEED the public to believe the system is working. They need people to believe they’re maintaining order otherwise they won’t keep their seats as elected officials.
Especially prosecutors; they get away with bloody murder and blatant civil rights violations.
So don’t bother; you’re barking up the wrong tree.
Essentially your complaint acts as a heads-up that they might be getting sued for violating your civil rights, and it actually gives them more time to prepare a case against you.
Whatever misconduct you’re experiencing, this isn’t the first time it has happened and you are not the first victim. They have likely been doing this for a while and will keep doing it.
Their ethical blinders are up; they will claim they are “just doing their job.” Even if doing their job means protecting the wealthy and denying due process to the middle class.
Once these people are in their seats, it’s tough to get them out any other way because the governing bodies who are there to “help,” don’t.
Instead, report misconduct to sites like the Giglio-Brady List and Judge Watch. As an outside organization, they are more likely to bring fresh eyes to the issue, and it keeps you safe from retaliation.
Which leads me to the next issue.
Don’t waste your time complaining to the Michigan Attorney General, Judicial Tenure Commission, or Attorney Grievance Board; they’re USELESS.
In Michigan, all of them are useless and will NOT help you.
I’ve filed complaint after complaint; none of it mattered. It has to be a really over-the-top complaint to go anywhere or result in some political advantage for them, and even then, not a lot, if anything, will probably happen.
Bureaucracy LOVES secrecy. Why? A few issues are at play here.
Protecting Public Image While Avoiding Liability & Damages
If they dare admit they were wrong, they open themselves up to civil rights-centric lawsuits. People wrongfully incarcerated in Michigan, by state law, are to receive $50,000 for each year of their wrongful imprisonment. That could get quite expensive, quite fast.
Obviously, the incentive structure for prosecutors is to rack up convictions. Period. Admitting a conviction is wrongful means that the state has to admit its actors are wrong and potentially unethical, hurting voter confidence and then paying a sizable bill, to boot.
No Meaningful Repercussions for Wrongdoing
Consider People v Dawn Dixon-Bay, where Jackson County Circuit Court Judge John McBain vehemently insisted he knew better than the Court of Appeals and Michigan Supreme Court and upwardly departed from a sentence by 15 years. He has a long history of bad behavior; this is not his first rodeo.
He is the FIRST entry in the Non-Public Proceedings in the 2023 Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission Annual Report. NOTHING happened to him as a result of his inappropriate behavior and outright denial of due process. They admonished him, which means nothing. He STILL has a job.
Or this case, People v. Loew, where Allegan County Judge Margaret Zuzich Baker and then Prosecutor Myrene Koch knowingly engaged in ex-parte communications. Clearly this wasn’t the first time. Margaret Baker knows better, and she did it anyway.
There were zero disciplinary actions against either of them, though Myrene did lose her reelection bid to Michael Villar and the Michigan Supreme Court updated the Michigan Judicial Disqualification Handbook citing the case as a “what not to do.”
The point is, none of these people faced repercussions.
And remember how I said the Michigan Attorney General doesn’t care? Yeah, she didn’t do anything about Myrene Koch violating ex parte communications, either.
DON’T waste your time going to the traditional media.
Local news stations won’t care at all about what is really happening because it’s not news to them; it happens everyday. They’re taking information from self-interested parties protecting themselves. Additionally, prosecutors have a media roll; members of the media where they send press releases. The media isn’t going to bite the hand that feeds. Especially if they know behind the scenes a particular prosecutor is vindictive.
Instead, they’ll take whatever Press Release is given to them and publish it, even when the authorities are wrong, corrupt, or both.
Your lawyer is NOT Atticus Finch; don’t expect a miracle.
There are very few lawyers practicing in the state of Michigan who will stick their neck out for you. They maintain good working relationships with prosecutors and other lawyers, even when they aren’t on the up and up.
And to a point, I can’t blame them. These are essentially co-workers. They have to see the other side everyday. They will protect their career first, and they will very rarely file grievances on other lawyers, even though the law profession is supposed to be “self-governing” (spoiler alert, it is not).
Here’s What To Do Instead:
So, all of that being said, what does someone do?
- Go Grassroots. Organize a group of citizens on a social media platform of your choice. Facebook remains the largest to date, although I’m not a fan. Organizing people will help you find people willing to discuss what happened and perhaps provide testimony IF you can escalate to that point.
- Start a Recall Campaign if applicable.
- Start a Political Action Committee, build a website, release your own press releases, and encourage other candidates to run against them.
- Watch this series on how citizens successfully removed a judge and use it as a playbook.
- Consult an out-of-state lawyer that can practice in Michigan and possibly file a Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit, like this case against Michigan State Police Detective Bryan Fuller of Wayland. Prepare as much documentation as possible.
- Contact your state representatives and keep an eye on bills focused on reform. Offer testimony whenever possible as it goes into public documentation.
- Beware of Snake Oil Salesmen. There are people who will claim they can help you, but if they aren’t pushing reforms, writing testimony, putting in the work for change, they are not who they say they are.
Above all, roll-up your sleeves and stay strong. It’s ok to be angry, but don’t let it destroy you.
