ANTRIM COUNTY: Court decision fueled by growing rift

Dec. 24—BELLAIRE — Antrim County leaders intend to create their own combined district/probate court and partially sever ties with what they view as a "Traverse-centric" system that doesn't provide the level of service they expect.

As county officials spelled out in the official resolution approved Thursday, the change to a "unified trial court" of district and probate was driven by a desire to improve customer service and reduce costs for Antrim County residents:

"Whereas, the present arrangement does not promote the efficient administration of justice, or deliver services to the people of Antrim County effectively or economically..." the board requests to "combine the functions of Probate and District Courts as of January 1, 2025, and adopt a Concurrent Jurisdiction Plan" for those two courts."

After more than an hour of heated debate, including impassioned comments by sitting judges, the board approved the resolution by a vote of 4-1.

A previous resolution to sever ties with the tri-county circuit court system was abandoned, so that only the district court portion would be affected.

"This is both procedural and political," said Antrim County board Chairman Terry VanAlstine. "We know it's not a done deal at this point."

Now the proposed change will go to Lansing, where a judiciary committee will examine it and receive input from the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO).

The SCAO uses a point system to determine which communities are under-served or over-served by court resources. Its recommendations carry heavy weight among Lansing lawmakers, according to Kevin Elsenheimer, chief judge of the 13th circuit court.

If approved in a House committee, the proposed unified court plan must be passed by both houses of the state Legislature before it can take effect. At the earliest, it would happen Jan. 1, 2025.

For many years, Antrim County has shared judges and specialized court resources with a tri-county system that includes Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties. Currently, Antrim County pays about 15% of the cost of the tri-county system. It generates 15-17% of the circuit court caseload and represents 17% of the population in the tri-county area.

Five judges attended Thursday's meeting — four still serving and one retired.

During the session, several commissioners complained about the downsides of a "Traverse-centric system" that doesn't treat Antrim like an equal partner in the tri-county system, a view that intensified during the COVID pandemic.

More specifically, commissioners said there's a lack of regular communication between Traverse City court administrators and the staff in Bellaire. They also bemoaned the paucity of court appearances in Bellaire by Traverse City-based judges, plus the lack of a supervisor for the local court staff. Another common complaint was the location of sobriety court hearings.

Antrim County Prosecutor James Rossiter said that local residents who enter sobriety court are often forced to travel to Traverse City to appear before a judge — which is particularly difficult if their drivers' licenses have been revoked.

Furthermore, Rossiter added: "During COVID, the district and circuit court judges in Traverse City didn't even come out to Bellaire, yet our court money went to them. Even after COVID, they scheduled district court days in Bellaire on the same day as our local probate hearings. That made it almost impossible to juggle attorneys and cases — too many moving parts."

Rossiter also said he was "angered" that Grand Traverse court staff received a 10% raise during the COVID pandemic while their Antrim cohorts only got 2%. "That really stuck in my craw," he said.

Board chair VanAlstine brought up a rumor that court fines paid by Antrim citizens end up in the pocket of the Grand Traverse County treasurer, which raised tempers in the room: "Tell me yes or no: Is that true?" he demanded of James Cooney, chief district court judge.

When Cooney didn't immediately reply, a court administrator from Traverse City chimed in from the back of the room: "We transfer that fine money to the Antrim County Treasurer every day and we provide a monthly report to them as well," she said.

The three sitting Traverse City-based judges who attended Thursday's meeting vigorously denied that Antrim County is treated as an inferior "adjunct" in the tri-county system.

Circuit court judges Kevin Elsenheimer and Charles Hamlyn sent a detailed three-page letter to the Antrim commission refuting many of the charges. They spoke strongly against Antrim leaving the circuit court system, while giving mild approval of a possible district court consolidation in Bellaire.

For his part, Cooney complained that he hadn't even heard of these Antrim issues and complaints until late November. "I feel we've been kind of blindsided and I wish we had time to resolve these issues more thoroughly before a vote is taken."

Bellaire-based Probate Judge Norman Hayes expressed anger that these court issues and complaints weren't resolved amicably behind closed doors via conversations among the various judges and administrators involved.

"I've heard about a bunch of complaints from the prosecutor's office about our citizens who want to get rid of the Grand Traverse County [connection] in our courts," Hayes said. "Some folks feel all the money and resources are focused down there...and that we don't get enough judge visits to Bellaire."

At the same time, Hayes fervently argued that a county board resolution isn't the best way to settle these issues: "This should have been discussed privately in chambers weeks ago between judges. I'm embarrassed for [Chief District Court] Judge Cooney ... Over the years, our judges have shared caseload — and I don't see why we can't do that going forward."

Hayes, who has served on various courts for more than 30 years, is forced to retire by the end of 2024 because of age limits in the state constitution. That means a new judge for the proposed combined district-probate court seat must be elected in 2024 — without knowing if that plan will actually be approved in Lansing.

An existing contractual agreement between the three counties requires Antrim County to give 356 days' notice of such a change, which means no more than eight days from now.

Antrim County Commissioner Jason Helwig was the only board member to vote against the "partial divorce" proposal, saying repeatedly that the board lacks complete information about how it would work and what it might cost (or save) the county in the end: "Why are we rushing this? I need more time — we need more time."

An earlier proposal drafted by County Administrator Jeremy Scott asserted that Antrim could possibly save up to $200,000 per year by combining all court functions in Bellaire (circuit, district and probate courts). During the meeting, Scott and others acknowledged that savings figure was a rough estimate and may not be reliable.

"Here in Bellaire, we've maintained fairly close relations with the probate court," Scott said. "That's not been the same relationship with district or circuit court.

"For me, pointing fingers doesn't have a lot of value. But I do believe there's a big opportunity to improve customer services to our local community [by consolidating more court functions in Antrim County.]"

In the end, the Antrim board voted against the original resolution to completely divorce its courts from the tri-county system. Instead, it settled on keeping the circuit court system, but moving all district court duties to Bellaire with one judge for both district and probate court responsibilities.

After the meeting, several judges expressed remorse over the harsh words.

Hayes was among those who regretted the heated tone of Thursday's discussion and later wished everyone "a merry Christmas" in the hallway outside the commission meeting room.