When Society Breaks Its Promise: Why Crime Is Our Collective Moral Failure
A teenager stands before a judge; another statistic in a system that pretends utter surprise at his presence. He grew…
Rita Williams
Rita Williams is a Michigan-based judicial oversight analyst and founder of Clutch Justice, an investigative platform focused on court system accountability, sentencing integrity, and SCAO policy. Her work examines how courts, policies, and administrative systems operate in practice, with a focus on where process breaks down and harm is created. Drawing on lived experience and systems-level analysis, she writes to make legal structures more readable, expose institutional gaps, and advocate for reforms grounded in both evidence and human impact. Rita’s writing bridges legal analysis, institutional critique, and public education, with a consistent focus on accountability without losing sight of the people most affected by the justice system.
Judicial Discretion and Its Limits in Michigan Sentencing | Rita Williams
Judicial discretion is a central feature of sentencing in Michigan courts. It allows judges to account for individual circumstances while…
Fit-Bench and Predictive Sentencing: Preventing Judicial Failure Without Controlling Outcomes
The phrase “predictive sentencing” makes people uneasy, and probably for good reason. Any system that claims to predict how a…
Michigan Attorney John Lawrence McDonough Receives Second Two Year Suspension Following OWI Conviction and Failure to Cooperate
The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board has ordered a second two-year suspension of John Lawrence McDonough (P68576) of Three Rivers, Michigan, following a criminal conviction and multiple failures…
The Form Was Technically Correct: When Bureaucracy Breaks People
Red tape is something no one enjoys dealing with. Whether it’s signing more forms than necessary, jumping through five proverbial…
The Hidden Cost of Due Process: Court Involvement and Financial Instability
Quick FAQs Court Costs, Due Process, and the Financial Harm Courts Inflict Courts rarely describe what they do in plain…
Alger Middle School Principal Jailed After Probation Violation, Media Exploits It
Grand Rapids, Michigan — February 4, 2026 Quick Facts Case Background According to West Michigan Media Outlets, Charlie Lovelady, principal…
Jim Runestad Is Right: Michigan’s Child Protection Systems Are Failing Kids
Quick FAQ The Hard Truth When a child dies after repeated contact with Child Protective Services, that is not a…
People v. Langston Takes On Felony Murder Life-Without-Parole Challenge
Here’s Why Michigan May Be on the Verge of a Sentencing Reckoning. Quick Facts The Case at the Center: People…
Traci Kornak Charged With Embezzlement in Michigan Conservatorship Case
Quick Facts Case Background On February 3, prosecutors charged Traci Kornak, a Grand Rapids attorney and former treasurer of the Michigan Democratic…
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