third Judicial Circuit of michigan 2005 ANNUAL REPORT 2005 Annual Report Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan Coleman A. Young Municipal Center Lincoln Hall of Justice 2 Woodward Avenue 1025 E. Forest Avenue Detroit, MI 48226 Detroit, MI 48207 Frank Murphy Hall of Justice Penobscot Building 1441 St. Antoine 645 Griswold Detroit, MI 48226 Detroit, MI 48226 Mediation Tribunal Association 333 W. Fort Street Detroit, MI 48226 Mary Beth Kelly Chief Judge Bernard J. Kost Executive Court Administrator Kelli D. Moore Deputy Court Administrator THE THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF MICHIGAN 711 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center Detroit, Michigan 48226-3413 BERNARD J. KOST (313) 224-5261 Executive Court Administrator FAX (313) 224-6070 Email: [email protected] April 28, 2006 Honorable Mary Beth Kelly Chief Judge Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan 701 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center Detroit, Michigan 48226 Dear Judge Kelly: With this letter I am pleased to transmit the 2005 Annual Report of the Third Circuit Court for your review. This report includes a brief narrative, a compilation of summary statistics, and an overview of the Court’s principal activities and programs in 2005. I would like to highlight two important accomplishments in 2005: • the August transition of entrance and perimeter security at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice from a private provider to the Wayne County Sheriff, and • the successful migration of guardianship cases to the Court’s new case management system. In the first instance, the presence of uniformed law enforcement officers has clearly created a more secure courthouse facility. In the second instance, the migration of guardianship cases represents an important first step in the multi-year project to convert the Court’s three legacy systems to a single state-of-the-art system by 2008. This Annual Report documents many noteworthy accomplishments of the judges and employees last year. Please join me in commending them for their dedication to serving the public. Sincerely, Bernard J. Kost Executive Court Administrator Table of Contents Third Circuit Court Judges...................................................................................................................................... 1 Third Circuit Court Bench Photograph ................................................................................................................................ 2 Judge Neilson Dedication............................................................................................................................................................. 3 Organization Chart.................................................................................................................................................... 4 Judges Elected or Appointed to the Bench in 2005...................................................................................... 5 Judges Retired from the Bench in 2005............................................................................................................. 6 2005 Highlights .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Financial Information ............................................................................................................................................... 13 Caseload Trends ......................................................................................................................................................... 14 Court Divisions and Statistics................................................................................................................................ 16 Court Administration ............................................................................................................................................... 20 Court Departments and Programs...................................................................................................................... 23 Court Managers/Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................. 31 Third Circuit Court Judges Third Circuit Court Judges Mary Beth Kelly, Chief Judge CIVIL DIVISION William J. Giovan, Chief Judge Pro Tempore and Presiding Wendy M. Baxter Gershwin A. Drain Michael F. Sapala Susan D. Borman John H. Gillis, Jr. Cynthia D. Stephens Michael James Callahan Kathleen Macdonald Edward M. Thomas Robert J. Colombo, Jr. Warfield Moore, Jr. Isidore Torres Daphne Means Curtis John A. Murphy Robert L. Ziolkowski CRIMINAL DIVISION Edward Ewell, Jr., Presiding David J. Allen Prentis Edwards Timothy M. Kenny Annette J. Berry Vonda R. Evans Wade Harper McCree Gregory Dean Bill Patricia S. Fresard Bruce U. Morrow Ulysses W. Boykin David A. Groner Daniel P. Ryan Margie R. Braxton Cynthia Gray Hathaway Craig S. Strong James R. Chylinski Diane Marie Hathaway Brian R. Sullivan, Jr. Sean F. Cox Michael Hathaway Deborah A. Thomas Maggie W. Drake Thomas E. Jackson Mary M. Waterstone Vera Massey Jones FAMILY DIVISION-DOMESTIC RELATIONS Lita M. Popke, Presiding Helen E. Brown Richard B. Halloran, Jr. Maria L. Oxholm Bill Callahan Amy P. Hathaway Richard M. Skutt William Leo Cahalan Arthur J. Lombard Jeanne Stempien Charlene M. Elder Kathleen M. McCarthy Carole F. Youngblood FAMILY DIVISION-JUVENILE Virgil C. Smith, Jr., Presiding Megan Maher Brennan Judges of Probate James A. Callahan Judy A. Hartsfield Christopher D. Dingell James E. Lacey Sheila Ann Gibson Leslie Kim Smith 1 Third Circuit Court Judges Judges of the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan 2005 Bottom row from left to right: Amy P. Hathaway, Mary M. Waterstone, Maria L. Oxholm, John A. Murphy, Sheila Ann Gibson, Susan D. Borman, Carole Youngblood, Daphne Means Curtis, Patricia S. Fresard, Mary Beth Kelly (Chief Judge), Diane Marie Hathaway, Kathleen M. McCarthy, Vera Massey Jones, Annette J. Berry, Jeanne Stempien, Brian R. Sullivan, Judy Hartsfield, and Charlene Elder. Middle row from left to right: Megan Maher Brennan, Vonda R. Evans, Wendy M. Baxter, William J. Giovan (Chief Judge Pro Tem and Presiding-Civil Division), Cynthia D. Stephens, Thomas E. Jackson, Robert L. Ziolkowski, Christopher D. Dingell, Bruce U. Morrow, Richard B. Halloran, Jr., James R. Chylinski, Warfield Moore, Jr. , Timothy M. Kenny, Bill Callahan, John H. Gillis, Jr., and Richard M. Skutt. Top row from left to right: Craig S. Strong, Michael F. Sapala, Isidore Torres, Prentis Edwards, James A. Callahan, Michael Hathaway, Lita M. Popke (Presiding-Family Division-Domestic Relations), Deborah A. Thomas, Ulysses Boykin, Edward Ewell, Jr. (Presiding-Criminal Division), Gregory Dean Bill, Wade H. McCree, Virgil C. Smith, Jr. (Presiding-Family Division-Juvenile), Robert J. Colombo, Jr., David A. Groner, Sean F. Cox, David J. Allen, and Kathleen Macdonald. Not Pictured: Margie R. Braxton, Helen E. Brown, William Leo Cahalan, Michael J. Callahan, Gershwin A. Drain, Maggie W. Drake, Cynthia Gray Hathaway, James E. Lacey, Arthur J. Lombard, Daniel P. Ryan, Leslie Kim Smith, and Edward M. Thomas. 2 A Special Dedication to the Honorable Susan Bieke Neilson 1956 - 2005 Circuit Court Judges Chief Judge Mary Beth Kelly Executive Court Administrator Bernard J. Kost Judicial Assistant Gregory Kocab Judge Susan Bieke Neilson, who served on the Third Judicial Circuit Bench for 14 years, lost her life to cancer on January 25, 2006 at the age of 50. She is survived by her husband, Jeff and her two daughters, Lizzie and Mary. Public Director of Director of Director of Friend of the Director of Chief Financial Deputy Court Executive Director Communications Buildings & Human Clinic for Court Coordinator ITSB Ocer Administrator Facilities Resources of MTA Child Study Born in Ann Arbor on August 27, 1956, Judge Neilson was a life-long resident of Michigan. She received her Joseph Schewe Elizabeth Shumate Jerome Wysocki Therese Lisowski Kelli D. Moore Management Pamela E. Grin Lisa Timmons Joseph Avore bachelor’s degree in 1977 from the honors college at the University of Michigan, and her J.D. in 1980 from Theresa Plotzke Wayne State University. From 1980 until 1991, Judge Neilson practiced law, first as an associate and later as a partner, with the prestigious Detroit firm of Dickinson, Wright, Moon, VanDusen & Freeman. She specialized in products liability claims, medical malpractice claims, and commercial litigation. After Judge Neilson’s initial appointment to the Third Judicial Circuit by Governor John Engler on July 15, 1991, she was re-elected three times. Having significant experience on Michigan’s largest state trial court bench, serving in both the civil and criminal divisions, Judge Neilson resigned from the Third Judicial Circuit Director of Director of Director of Director of on November 16, 2005, and was appointed by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Ancillary Assigned Counsel Case Processing Chief Court Reporter Juvenile Court Services Leonard Branka Jerome Fekin Debra McGinnis Administration Sidney McBride Johanna O’Grady-Ward Judge Neilson wrote numerous articles and was co-editor and author of Michigan Civil Procedure, a two- volume treatise on all areas of Michigan civil practice. The Michigan Judicial Institute selected the treatise to purchase for every trial court judge in the state. Judge Neilson’s dedication to the improvement of the law, in addition to her commitment to the highest ethical standards, will long be remembered. 3 Organization Chart