Schipper’s outrageous sentencing has been struck down again. Read the latest Michigan Supreme Court Remands impacting Judge Michael Schipper’s upward departures here.
Key Takeaways
- Judge Michael Schipper defies the Michigan Court of Appeals by refusing to resentence according to guidelines, marking his third blatant disregard in less than a year.
- Schipper’s actions erode public confidence in the judicial system and waste taxpayer dollars by ignoring due process and sentencing standards.
- He denied the reality of alcoholism as a disease, questioning medical consensus while failing to follow legal directives.
- There is an urgent need for legal leaders and citizens to replace Schipper with someone who respects the law and ensures fair justice.
- Judges in Michigan cannot be recalled, highlighting a legislative need for change in response to Schipper’s willful defiance.
Yesterday, Barry County Judge Michael?Schipper once again thumbed his nose at the Michigan Court of Appeals; this time in the resentencing of Scott Handley. The Court of Appeals explicitly told Schipper to resentence within guidelines and he refused.
This marks the third such blatant defiance in less than a year.
That’s not just pattern; it’s Schipper’s intentionally broken system.
A Quick Recap
Back in April 2025, Schipper resentenced a defendant to 396 days in jail plus two years of house arrest, when the sentencing guidelines and the Court of Appeals put the cap at six months. The Court of Appeals explicitly barred Schipper from handling the resentencing after it found he already had overstepped its guidelines…twice.
This is not one rare lapse. In March, Judge Schipper handed down a six?month jail sentence and probation to a 19?year?old involved in a fatal 2023 accident; the charges were exactly the same, demonstrating significant sentencing disparity.
The third such example is his handling of Timothy Riddle’s case; Barry County “institutionalized” him by making him into a juvenile lifer and then blamed him for it.
More recently, we saw his courtroom “shell game”, canceling hearings with zero notice, leaving defendants, attorneys, and supporters out in the cold.
That’s not due process; that’s blatant obstruction and doubling down on his terrible decisions. It’s also a tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars to even bother with a Pre-Sentencing Investigation Report when Judge Schipper is just going to ignore the law anyway.
A judge who brazenly rejects higher-court orders, manipulates schedules to derail transparency, and disregards sentencing guidelines isn’t just a bad actor. He’s a liability to justice itself, separating families, misrepresenting restitution amounts, and sentencing up to 800% higher than sentencing guidelines.
Denying Alcoholism as a Disease
On top of his inability to follow the law, Schipper was callous enough to claim that “alcoholism isn’t a real disease.”
Michael Schipper is not a medical doctor. It is doubtful anyone would trust him to apply a bandaid, as he could not be trusted to follow the directions on the box.
Because yes, it is a real medical condition.
Something must be done:
- Refusing to respect the rule of law.
- Eroding public confidence in the judicial system.
- Stacking appellate remands, wasting taxpayer dollars and interrupting due process
Judge Schipper’s pattern of defiance strikes at the heart of fair justice. It’s time for citizens and legal leaders to demand he be replaced with someone who honors the law, not subverts it.
There is no mercy in his courtroom; just willful ignorance.
Sadly, judges cannot be recalled in Michigan; a legislative issue that desperately needs a ballot initiative to be changed.
Resources:
- Michigan Judicial Code of Conduct
- Judicial Tenure Commission Complaints
- Michigan Recall Law
- How an Issue Becomes a Ballot Proposal
