Daily Briefs

Holiday Hours
The Third Circuit Court Civil, Criminal and Family Divisions will be closed on Monday, May 27, in observance of Memorial Day.

New hours for the Wayne County Probate Court effective June 1
Effective June 1, the Wayne County Probate Court’s hours of operation will be 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday.  

Suspended judge faces tenure commission hearing in Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A judge who a state agency says had an affair with a woman who had a child-support case pending in his court is facing a hearing.
The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission hearing for Wayne County Circuit Judge Wade McCree began Monday in Ann Arbor and is expected to last several days. A retired judge is presiding.
Geniene La’Shay Mott disclosed an affair with McCree in December. He was placed on leave and then suspended without pay in February.
The commission says McCree lied during the agency’s ethics investigation and falsely reported to prosecutors that Mott was stalking him.
McCree’s attorney, Brian Einhorn, has said the judge shouldn’t lose his job.
The state Supreme Court reprimanded McCree last year after he sent a shirtless photo of himself to a female court employee.

Snyder appoints Kathy Hoogstra to 14th Circuit Court
Muskegon Country Probate Court Administrator and Register Kathy Hoogstra has been appointed as the 14th Circuit Court judge by Gov. Rick Snyder. She replaces the spot vacated by Judge John C. Ruck.
 “Kathy Hoogstra is an accomplished and dedicated legal professional who has served Muskegon County residents for 20 years,” Snyder said. “Her qualifications and experience have prepared her to be an excellent judge.”
 Hoogstra, of Muskegon, has served as probate court administrator and register since 2007. She previously served as the Muskegon County Family Court Referee and Contract Attorney/Public Defender, as well as a judicial law clerk for the Muskegon County Circuit Court. She is active in professional organizations, including the Muskegon Country Bar Association, where she has served as president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, trustee, and committee chair. Additionally, she has served as the president, vice president, and secretary of the Women’s Lawyer’s Association of Michigan, Lake Shore Region. Hoogstra is also active in community organizations, and was awarded the Greater Muskegon Women’s Club “Women of Accomplishment” award in March 2012.
Hoogstra earned a bachelor’s degree at Calvin College and a degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law.
 Hoogstra will finish the remainder of Ruck’s term, which ends Jan. 1, 2015. She has the option to seek election for a full six-year term in November 2014.

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