Faunce and Kirkham are appointed by Snyder to 16th, 37th Circuit Courts
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Rick Snyder has announced the appointments of Judge Jennifer Faunce, of Warren, to the 16th Circuit Court bench in Macomb County, and Brian Kirkham, of Battle Creek, as judge of the 37th Circuit Court in Calhoun County.
“Jennifer and Brian have served their communities with distinction for many years, and I am confident that experience will serve them and the residents of Macomb and Calhoun counties well in these judgeships,” Snyder said.
Faunce, currently a judge for the 37th District Court, fills the vacancy created when state Supreme Court Justice David Viviano was appointed last February. She previously served as a state representative in the 29th District from 1999 to 2003, and chaired the House Criminal Justice Committee. She also served as an assistant prosecutor for the Macomb County Juvenile Court from 1995 to 1999. Faunce is active in the legal community, serving as a member of the Michigan Bar Association, the Macomb County Bar Association, and the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Detroit.
Faunce must seek election in November 2014 to serve out the remaining four years of Viviano’s term.
Kirkham, who replaces Judge Allen Garbrecht, has served as an attorney in private practice for 30 years, focusing on estates, wills and trusts, probate, domestic relations, bankruptcy, personal injury and general litigation. He was elected to two terms as mayor of Battle Creek from 2001 to 2003, and served as a city commissioner for three terms beginning in 1997. He previously worked as a law clerk and helped run his family’s restaurant, the Spa Steak House, in Battle Creek. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University and a degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Kirkham must seek election in November 2014 to serve out the remaining two years of Garbrecht’s term.
$4 million for testing rape kits approved
LANSING, Mich. — A supplemental budget bill that includes $4 million for the State Forensics Laboratory Fund to conduct DNA testing on thousands of unprocessed rape kits from crimes committed in the city of Detroit was signed by Gov. Rick Snyder.
The appropriation is funded by settlement monies successfully recovered by Attorney General Bill Schuette from litigation.
“Twice women were violated, first by the rape, and second when justice was left in a box on the shelf. That’s going to end, starting now. I cannot thank Gov. Snyder and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy enough for working together with us to make this happen,” Schuette said.
In 2009, approximately 11,300 untested rape kits dating back 25 years were discovered in a Detroit Police property storage facility. Each rape kit has the potential to solve multiple crimes, including those committed by serial rapists.
Since the closure of the Detroit Police Department Crime Laboratory in September 2009, the Michigan State Police (MSP) have been providing forensic science services to the city of Detroit and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
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