On September 10th, a trial is set to begin in a case that the Michigan Court of Appeals has already dismantled.
In In re DMT, the appellate court made it clear that the legal theory driving this prosecution was unsound. Yet Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker is pressing forward anyway, burning through public resources to prop up what increasingly looks less like a matter of law and more like a matter of ego.
A Higher Court Already Said NO.
The Court of Appeals already rejected this case’s foundation in In re DMT (opinion here). Most judges would take that as a signal to stop wasting time and money. Bakker, however, has decided to drag it to trial anyway, forcing both sides, as well as taxpayers, to fund a legal spectacle that the appellate bench already called out.
In fact, the Court of Appeals has been pretty firm on higher court authority, as other arrogant Judges like John McBain and Michael Schipper, have been reminded:
To be clear, lower courts must follow decisions of higher courts even if they believe the higher court’s decision was wrongly decided or has become obsolete. Paige v Sterling Hts, 476 Mich 495, 524; 720 NW2d 219 (2006).
If a trial judge is unable to follow the law as determined by a higher appellate court, the trial judge is in the wrong line of work. See Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 2 and Canon 3(A)(1); see also Pellegrino, 486 Mich at 352.
People v. Dixon-Bey, Michigan Court of Appeals, 2022
Bias on Full Display
This isn’t the first time Bakker has shown her hand. She previously tried to prosecutor shop, attempting to push the case to a Berrien County prosecutor; the same county where former prosecutor Myrene Koch now works. That move reeked of forum shopping, a maneuver used when a judge doesn’t like the answers she’s getting from one office and wants to find another more sympathetic ear.
Bakker is no stranger to making decisions that cut directly against due process.
At one point, she removed a defendant’s parenting time rights without even holding a hearing, raising serious questions about impartiality and abuse of judicial discretion. These aren’t the actions of a judge committed to fairness; they’re the actions of someone determined to bend the system to fit a personal agenda.
The Double Standard in Michigan
Meanwhile, the hypocrisy is glaring. In communities across Michigan, law enforcement ignores individuals doing harm, allowing them to rack up targets with little to no intervention. Real victims struggle to get law enforcement or prosecutors to take their safety seriously.
But in this case, even with the Court of Appeals having already shot it down, Bakker is all in. Allegedly, she is set to leave in January 2026 as she will officially age out of the position and no longer be able to serve on the bench.
Even with that consideration, all of it begs the question: why is this case such a priority when real threats and serial offenders are ignored?
Covering Misconduct?
The uncomfortable possibility is that this case isn’t about the facts or the law at all. It may be about covering up misconduct; hiding past judicial overreach, insulating the bench from scrutiny, or distracting from the fact that taxpayers are footing the bill for a vendetta. As reported in earlier Clutch coverage, Bakker’s pattern of decisions and persistence in pursuing dead-end charges suggest something more than judicial prudence.
Clutch Justice Takeaway
This trial isn’t just absurd. It’s malicious.
It’s also insulting; to taxpayers, to defendants, and to every victim who can’t get a warrant signed or the prosecutor to care. If Michigan’s justice system is supposed to prioritize accountability and public safety, then why is so much time and money being spent on a case that should have ended months ago?
When judges turn personal vendettas into public trials, justice isn’t served. It’s weaponized. Michigan’s courts can’t keep ignoring real stalkers while indulging judicial vendettas. And if I were a betting woman, this is a concerted effort to cover up for Myrene Koch’s failure to address an abusive situation that a child was left in by a drunk prosecutor.
The people deserve protection; not political theater.
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