We like to tell ourselves that justice is a matter of hiring the right lawyer. That if you find the “best in town,” justice will prevail. But here’s the truth nobody wants to say out loud: an attorney is only as good as the judge they’re working with.
When judges are fair, a skilled attorney can make a difference. But when judges are unethical, biased, or operating off personal grudges, it doesn’t matter if your lawyer is Atticus Finch himself; justice doesn’t stand a chance.
Why Bad Judges Render Good Lawyers Powerless
A good attorney builds a case on precedent, strategy, and reputation. They know the rules. They work within the system.
But bad judges don’t play by those rules:
- They ignore sentencing guidelines, sending defendants away for 3–5 times longer than recommended. Barry County’s Judge Michael Schipper has become notorious for this practice, dealing out excessive prison terms while the county still reports record numbers of violent crimes. Schipper has also been smacked down by the Court of Appeals multiple times for wrongly scoring sentencing guideline Offender Variables (OVs). Longer sentences haven’t made the community safer, but they sure have destroyed families.
- They waste taxpayer resources chasing personal vendettas. Just this year, Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker in Allegan County pushed forward a custody case already struck down by the Michigan Court of Appeals in In Re DMT. Higher courts told her to stop, but she didn’t care. That’s not justice; that’s ego, at the public’s expense.
- They bend the process to favor prosecutors they’ve worked with for decades, treating defense attorneys as nuisances rather than equal officers of the court. Reputation, skill, and experience mean nothing when the person in the robe has already decided the outcome.
- They offer people in power a different set of rules. Consider Judge Santoni in Kalamazoo; if former Portage City Manager Michael Carroll had been anyone else, he would have been hit with massive penalties for drunk driving. Instead, he got off with a slap on the wrist.
The Human Cost of Judicial Misconduct
When judges disregard fairness, it isn’t just the lawyers who lose; it’s families, defendants, and entire communities.
Every over-sentenced defendant is another child growing up without a parent. Every hour wasted on a judge’s vendetta is another taxpayer dollar stolen from roads, schools, and public health. And every time a defense attorney’s arguments are shut down not because of merit but because of bias, the public’s faith in the courts erodes just a little more.
And when people stop believing the courts are fair, they stop believing in democracy itself.
What We Must Demand
It’s time to stop pretending a “good lawyer” is the solution to a bad judge. Justice doesn’t just depend on the arguments, it depends on the referee.
Oversight must be real. The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission should protect citizens, not judges.
Court watchers must expand. Eyes on the ground are the only way to expose patterns of abuse. Communities must demand accountability.
Judges are elected, and they can be voted out. But not if people keep assuming the problem is only with the attorneys.
Because the next time someone says, “Just hire a good lawyer,” the answer should be: “That won’t matter if the judge is corrupt.”
How to Spot a Bad Judge
You don’t have to be a lawyer to recognize when a judge is abusing their power. Here are red flags that court watchers, families, and community members should look for:
🚩 1. Sentencing That Defies Guidelines
If a judge regularly hands out prison terms 2–5 times longer than the state’s own recommendations (hello, Barry County), that’s not “tough on crime.” That’s unchecked power.
🚩 2. Ignoring Higher Courts
When appellate courts send clear instructions—and the judge plows ahead anyway (looking at you, Allegan County)—that’s not justice. That’s arrogance.
🚩 3. Playing Favorites
Does the judge laugh and joke with prosecutors but cut off defense attorneys mid-sentence? Do they rule on objections before arguments are even finished? Bias in demeanor is bias in rulings.
🚩 4. Wasting Taxpayer Dollars
Judges who pursue personal vendettas, drag out already-settled cases, or hold unnecessary hearings aren’t just unethical—they’re billing every taxpayer for their ego trip.
🚩 5. Silencing the Public
Closed courtrooms. Shutting down court watchers. Denying media access without cause. When judges hide what they’re doing, it’s usually because they don’t want accountability.
Know of a Michigan Judge not on the up-and-up?
🖤 Love what we do? Support Clutch.
