Catherine McClary
“I know her, Mom,” my 10-year-old daughter blurted out when she saw Carol Kuhnke walk through the front door into a holiday party we were attending. “She’s the lady at the front desk!”
Earlier that day, in December 2022, at the Washtenaw County Trial Court, Chief Judge Carol Kuhnke presided over the swearing-in formalities of recently elected State Representatives. All but one were women, as were all of the dignitaries who participated in the ceremony.
I took my daughter to witness this historic event, but she focused on the woman sitting at the front of the room at the dais, Judge Kuhnke.
“I’m owning ‘The Lady at the Front Desk,’” Kuhnke laughed when she heard my daughter.
Kuhnke grew up in Milan and now lives in Ann Arbor with her wife, Elizabeth V. Janovic, who is also an attorney. They have an adult daughter, Julia; their son, John, is deceased.
After 19 years in private practice handling civil cases, Kuhnke ran for circuit court judge in 2012, winning the general election with 55% of the vote. She ran again in 2018, unopposed, for another six-year term, which will end this year.
At Kuhnke’s investiture in 2012, Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Douglas B. Shapiro, described Kuhnke as “soft-spoken but fights hard; she’s a critical thinker but not a critical person.”
She was the first judge elected in Michigan after a campaign in which she ran openly under the LGBTQ+ banner as a lesbian and supporter of women’s reproductive rights. Kuhnke took the seat of retiring Judge Melinda Morris, making Kuhnke the second woman elected as circuit judge. Winning her seat also meant one woman would remain on the five-judge court.
There have been elected and appointed female judges on the Probate Court in Washtenaw County for forty years, but Kuhnke explained the discrimination against women isn’t as prevalent in juvenile and probate courts. Women are often viewed as caretakers of children and the elderly.
Kuhnke was appointed chief judge of the Washtenaw County Trial Court in 2019 and chief judge of the 14A District Court in 2020. She steered both courts during the COVID pandemic, a perilous and challenging period. She knew when she took leadership of the courts that she would preside over retirements of key positions. By the end of 2020, Kuhnke successfully navigated replacement of the top four administrative positions in addition to managing a remote work environment for 10 judges and a court staff of 180.
During this difficult time, the woman who is “a critical thinker but not a critical person” initiated ambitious and innovative programs that flourish today.
Kuhnke ordered the elimination of court costs and fees for indigent criminal defendants represented by appointed defense counsel in 2022.
“We want to lead the state in reversing this system. We have taken the first step by ceasing to impose costs on people who qualify for no-cost appointed legal counsel,” said Kuhnke.
The Michigan legislature is currently debating the funding of trial courts. Legislators are considering extending the sunset provision allowing court costs to be charged (House Bills 5392 and 5534 – www.legislature.mi.gov/bills).
The law, first passed almost a decade ago, has been reauthorized several times. The second piece of legislation under debate would require the Michigan Supreme Court Administrative Office (SCAO) to develop a plan to fund court costs.
Both pieces of legislation stem from a 2014 Michigan Supreme Court decision. In People v Cunningham, the court unanimously ruled, “At issue is whether MCL 769.1k(1)(b)(ii) provides courts with the independent authority to impose costs upon criminal defendants. We hold that it does not. Instead, we hold that [the law] provides courts with the authority to impose only those costs that the Legislature has separately authorized by statute.”
This decision by the Supreme Court essentially gutted the ability for courts to fund ongoing operations and staff by imposing costs on criminal defendants without changes in state law to authorize specific “court costs” or to provide state funding for financing courts.
Studies of the use of governmental fees, fines, and costs have shown they can have negative consequences – reducing trust in government, driving up the cost of public services, and disproportionately impacting vulnerable residents. More about this issue can be found at https://www.gfoa.org/materials/gfr0423-breaking-the-cycle.
“Michigan, like many other states, relies on convicted persons to contribute to the cost of securing their convictions. CCFFJ [Cities & Counties for Fine and Fee Justice] has shared their research demonstrating that the imposition and collection of costs is detrimental to the community as a whole—pushing families into poverty and even causing people to commit new crimes to pay court costs,” said Kuhnke.
“There are no other cases in which defendants are charged court costs,” says Chief Deputy Court Administrator Robert Carbeck. “Divorce cases do not pay a fee for the services of Friend of the Court. Civil cases do not pay for services from the Clerk’s office. Only this unique case type – criminal division – some of the most vulnerable defendants are charged ‘court costs.’”
After the Supreme Court decision, the legislature stepped in, but, 10 years later, has not yet resolved the issue. To date, they’ve passed a series of short-term authorizations for the courts to continue charging court costs. Legislators amended Chapter IX of the code of criminal procedure, 1927 PA 175, MCL 769.1k to allow for “any cost reasonably related to the actual costs incurred by the trial court without separately calculating those costs involved in the particular case.” This law ends, or sunsets, on May 1, 2024. The legislature has yet to figure out how to fund the courts without unfairly taxing criminal defendants who may be indigent, innocent, or inequitably treated in the court system.
SCAO issued guidance to the courts on April 3, 2024, saying, “it is not anticipated that this bill will pass before MCL769.1k(1)(b)(iii) sunsets on May 1, 2024. Without [this law], courts do not have authority to impose court costs. . . .Please begin preparing for implementation of this change and discussing potential financial impacts with your funding units.”
“This is a complex issue that the Legislature needs to get right. It’s the right thing to do, but too expensive for local governments to foot the bill,” said Deena Bosworth, director of Governmental Affairs for Michigan Association of Counties. She estimates that courts stand to lose nearly $50 million annually state-wide in operational revenue without state funding or the ability to charge court costs. Washtenaw County waived almost $1 million in court costs for just over 900 indigent defendants in the first year of the program.
—————
Kuhnke initiated other ambitious programs in her five years as chief judge. She established the first gender-neutral restrooms and revised the dress code, including the elimination of the long-standing prohibition against “ethnic hair” styles.
Kuhnke created a specialty Drug Treatment Court, approved by SCAO shortly after the pandemic closed county facilities. She held court virtually until January 2022, when she could again hear cases in-person. The Drug Treatment Court diverts substance users from the criminal justice system by providing treatment, intensive supervision, and recovery support with the goal of long-term recovery. The Washtenaw County Bar Association recognized the Drug Treatment Court team with the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” Award.
As chief judge, Kuhnke supported the creation of a program, managed by the presiding Probate Judge Julia B. Owdziej, called Home for Generations. This program was created in partnership with the county treasurer to establish ownership in properties purchased informally during segregation and discriminatory lending. The Washtenaw County Bar Association recognized the generous pro bono work of 30 local attorneys and family mediators with the prestigious Darrow-Harris Award.
In August 2020 Citizens for Racial Equity in Washtenaw County (CREW) issued a critical analysis of the judicial system. “[There] is overwhelming statistical evidence that People of Color in this country are discriminated against at every level of the criminal legal system [quoting a June 2020 article in the Washington Post by Radley Balko]. At the county level, however, such evidence has been largely anecdotal.”
After receiving the CREW report, in which they had little county level data, Kuhnke made changes in court operations to track racial disparity data points, compile data, and better position the court to find patterns of inequity in the future. She partnered with SCAO and the University of Michigan to develop a data analysis prototype for a statewide sentencing dashboard.
In 2022 Kuhnke issued a Local Administrative Order (LAO) to create a Tax Foreclosure Prevention docket. This docket is presided over by Judge Patrick J. Conlin, Jr., who has discretion to appoint a guardian ad litem (GAL) to assist a homeowner with cognitive or physical impairments and prevent tax foreclosure.
Last year, Kuhnke partnered with the county’s prosecutor, public defender, and Corner Health Center for a restorative justice program called Specialized Alternative to Sentencing Support (SASS). Corner Health Center is a long-standing health clinic in Ypsilanti for those aged 12-25. The program provides supportive services to young people with criminal offenses who can have their case dismissed if they successfully complete the program. This is similar to how other “specialty courts,” such as Veterans Treatment or Mental Health Courts, work.
Kuhnke is the 2023 recipient of the State Bar of Michigan Negligence Law Section’s Judicial Excellence Award and the Women Lawyers Association Washtenaw County Region’s 2023 Mary Foster Award.
“I want Michigan lawyers to know that I want to hear from them,” Kuhnke advises attorneys who appear before the Washtenaw County Trial Court. “I want to hear if they have a problem with how the court operates, or if they think we are doing something right. Either way, I appreciate it when lawyers contact me. We are all in this together, and things work so much better when we communicate.”
Earlier that day, in December 2022, at the Washtenaw County Trial Court, Chief Judge Carol Kuhnke presided over the swearing-in formalities of recently elected State Representatives. All but one were women, as were all of the dignitaries who participated in the ceremony.
I took my daughter to witness this historic event, but she focused on the woman sitting at the front of the room at the dais, Judge Kuhnke.
“I’m owning ‘The Lady at the Front Desk,’” Kuhnke laughed when she heard my daughter.
Kuhnke grew up in Milan and now lives in Ann Arbor with her wife, Elizabeth V. Janovic, who is also an attorney. They have an adult daughter, Julia; their son, John, is deceased.
After 19 years in private practice handling civil cases, Kuhnke ran for circuit court judge in 2012, winning the general election with 55% of the vote. She ran again in 2018, unopposed, for another six-year term, which will end this year.
At Kuhnke’s investiture in 2012, Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Douglas B. Shapiro, described Kuhnke as “soft-spoken but fights hard; she’s a critical thinker but not a critical person.”
She was the first judge elected in Michigan after a campaign in which she ran openly under the LGBTQ+ banner as a lesbian and supporter of women’s reproductive rights. Kuhnke took the seat of retiring Judge Melinda Morris, making Kuhnke the second woman elected as circuit judge. Winning her seat also meant one woman would remain on the five-judge court.
There have been elected and appointed female judges on the Probate Court in Washtenaw County for forty years, but Kuhnke explained the discrimination against women isn’t as prevalent in juvenile and probate courts. Women are often viewed as caretakers of children and the elderly.
Kuhnke was appointed chief judge of the Washtenaw County Trial Court in 2019 and chief judge of the 14A District Court in 2020. She steered both courts during the COVID pandemic, a perilous and challenging period. She knew when she took leadership of the courts that she would preside over retirements of key positions. By the end of 2020, Kuhnke successfully navigated replacement of the top four administrative positions in addition to managing a remote work environment for 10 judges and a court staff of 180.
During this difficult time, the woman who is “a critical thinker but not a critical person” initiated ambitious and innovative programs that flourish today.
Kuhnke ordered the elimination of court costs and fees for indigent criminal defendants represented by appointed defense counsel in 2022.
“We want to lead the state in reversing this system. We have taken the first step by ceasing to impose costs on people who qualify for no-cost appointed legal counsel,” said Kuhnke.
The Michigan legislature is currently debating the funding of trial courts. Legislators are considering extending the sunset provision allowing court costs to be charged (House Bills 5392 and 5534 – www.legislature.mi.gov/bills).
The law, first passed almost a decade ago, has been reauthorized several times. The second piece of legislation under debate would require the Michigan Supreme Court Administrative Office (SCAO) to develop a plan to fund court costs.
Both pieces of legislation stem from a 2014 Michigan Supreme Court decision. In People v Cunningham, the court unanimously ruled, “At issue is whether MCL 769.1k(1)(b)(ii) provides courts with the independent authority to impose costs upon criminal defendants. We hold that it does not. Instead, we hold that [the law] provides courts with the authority to impose only those costs that the Legislature has separately authorized by statute.”
This decision by the Supreme Court essentially gutted the ability for courts to fund ongoing operations and staff by imposing costs on criminal defendants without changes in state law to authorize specific “court costs” or to provide state funding for financing courts.
Studies of the use of governmental fees, fines, and costs have shown they can have negative consequences – reducing trust in government, driving up the cost of public services, and disproportionately impacting vulnerable residents. More about this issue can be found at https://www.gfoa.org/materials/gfr0423-breaking-the-cycle.
“Michigan, like many other states, relies on convicted persons to contribute to the cost of securing their convictions. CCFFJ [Cities & Counties for Fine and Fee Justice] has shared their research demonstrating that the imposition and collection of costs is detrimental to the community as a whole—pushing families into poverty and even causing people to commit new crimes to pay court costs,” said Kuhnke.
“There are no other cases in which defendants are charged court costs,” says Chief Deputy Court Administrator Robert Carbeck. “Divorce cases do not pay a fee for the services of Friend of the Court. Civil cases do not pay for services from the Clerk’s office. Only this unique case type – criminal division – some of the most vulnerable defendants are charged ‘court costs.’”
After the Supreme Court decision, the legislature stepped in, but, 10 years later, has not yet resolved the issue. To date, they’ve passed a series of short-term authorizations for the courts to continue charging court costs. Legislators amended Chapter IX of the code of criminal procedure, 1927 PA 175, MCL 769.1k to allow for “any cost reasonably related to the actual costs incurred by the trial court without separately calculating those costs involved in the particular case.” This law ends, or sunsets, on May 1, 2024. The legislature has yet to figure out how to fund the courts without unfairly taxing criminal defendants who may be indigent, innocent, or inequitably treated in the court system.
SCAO issued guidance to the courts on April 3, 2024, saying, “it is not anticipated that this bill will pass before MCL769.1k(1)(b)(iii) sunsets on May 1, 2024. Without [this law], courts do not have authority to impose court costs. . . .Please begin preparing for implementation of this change and discussing potential financial impacts with your funding units.”
“This is a complex issue that the Legislature needs to get right. It’s the right thing to do, but too expensive for local governments to foot the bill,” said Deena Bosworth, director of Governmental Affairs for Michigan Association of Counties. She estimates that courts stand to lose nearly $50 million annually state-wide in operational revenue without state funding or the ability to charge court costs. Washtenaw County waived almost $1 million in court costs for just over 900 indigent defendants in the first year of the program.
—————
Kuhnke initiated other ambitious programs in her five years as chief judge. She established the first gender-neutral restrooms and revised the dress code, including the elimination of the long-standing prohibition against “ethnic hair” styles.
Kuhnke created a specialty Drug Treatment Court, approved by SCAO shortly after the pandemic closed county facilities. She held court virtually until January 2022, when she could again hear cases in-person. The Drug Treatment Court diverts substance users from the criminal justice system by providing treatment, intensive supervision, and recovery support with the goal of long-term recovery. The Washtenaw County Bar Association recognized the Drug Treatment Court team with the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” Award.
As chief judge, Kuhnke supported the creation of a program, managed by the presiding Probate Judge Julia B. Owdziej, called Home for Generations. This program was created in partnership with the county treasurer to establish ownership in properties purchased informally during segregation and discriminatory lending. The Washtenaw County Bar Association recognized the generous pro bono work of 30 local attorneys and family mediators with the prestigious Darrow-Harris Award.
In August 2020 Citizens for Racial Equity in Washtenaw County (CREW) issued a critical analysis of the judicial system. “[There] is overwhelming statistical evidence that People of Color in this country are discriminated against at every level of the criminal legal system [quoting a June 2020 article in the Washington Post by Radley Balko]. At the county level, however, such evidence has been largely anecdotal.”
After receiving the CREW report, in which they had little county level data, Kuhnke made changes in court operations to track racial disparity data points, compile data, and better position the court to find patterns of inequity in the future. She partnered with SCAO and the University of Michigan to develop a data analysis prototype for a statewide sentencing dashboard.
In 2022 Kuhnke issued a Local Administrative Order (LAO) to create a Tax Foreclosure Prevention docket. This docket is presided over by Judge Patrick J. Conlin, Jr., who has discretion to appoint a guardian ad litem (GAL) to assist a homeowner with cognitive or physical impairments and prevent tax foreclosure.
Last year, Kuhnke partnered with the county’s prosecutor, public defender, and Corner Health Center for a restorative justice program called Specialized Alternative to Sentencing Support (SASS). Corner Health Center is a long-standing health clinic in Ypsilanti for those aged 12-25. The program provides supportive services to young people with criminal offenses who can have their case dismissed if they successfully complete the program. This is similar to how other “specialty courts,” such as Veterans Treatment or Mental Health Courts, work.
Kuhnke is the 2023 recipient of the State Bar of Michigan Negligence Law Section’s Judicial Excellence Award and the Women Lawyers Association Washtenaw County Region’s 2023 Mary Foster Award.
“I want Michigan lawyers to know that I want to hear from them,” Kuhnke advises attorneys who appear before the Washtenaw County Trial Court. “I want to hear if they have a problem with how the court operates, or if they think we are doing something right. Either way, I appreciate it when lawyers contact me. We are all in this together, and things work so much better when we communicate.”
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