Chief justice says no quick way to dismiss Ann Arbor judge
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s chief justice says there’s no immediate way to remove an Ann Arbor judge who collects a salary despite being stripped of his courtroom duties.
Robert Young Jr. says Judge Christopher Easthope can be paid “for doing no work for as long as his conscience will allow.” Young’s letter was published in The Detroit News.
The Michigan Supreme Court can remove judges but only after lengthy investigations by a watchdog agency.
The chief judge at 15th District Court has barred Easthope from hearing cases after text messages revealed that he and a local lawyer were drinking buddies who had smoked marijuana together. The messages also suggest Easthope helped the lawyer’s firm get a $203,000 contract with Ann Arbor.
Easthope plans to resign at the end of 2015.
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Parole absconder faces life in prison for slaying conviction
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A parole absconder will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the slaying of an 81-year-old man at a hotel in western Michigan.
A jury on Wednesday convicted 29-year-old Matthew Brunn of felony murder in the strangulation death of Casey Wybenga, a former restaurateur. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 12.
Wybenga was found dead and his vehicle missing on Dec. 30 at a hotel in Walker. Brunn was arrested in January in Detroit after police say he stole a vehicle belonging to Wybenga. Authorities say Brunn cut his ankle monitor off the night before Wybenga’s body was discovered.
Brunn confessed, but his defense lawyer raised the prospect at trial that a variety of ailments could have killed Wybenga — not strangulation.
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Zabriskie renamed to redevelopment board
The City of Birmingham has reappointed Bodman PLC attorney Wendy L. Zabriskie to a 3-year term on its Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.
The Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was established by the City of Birmingham to promote the redevelopment and reuse of commercial and industrial property that is environmentally contaminated, blighted, or obsolete. The Authority may implement redevelopment plans and use tax increment financing to assist with the remediation and redevelopment of eligible sites.
A member and former co-chair of Bodman’s Banking Practice Group, Zabriskie has more than twenty years of experience representing banks.
Zabriskie is based in Bodman’s Troy office. She is listed as one of Michigan’s leading banking and finance attorneys in Chambers USA 2015.
She is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2015 under Banking and Finance Law and in Michigan Super Lawyers 2014 under Banking Law and as one of the Top 50 women attorneys in Michigan. In 2014, DBusiness magazine named her a “Top Lawyer” in Real Estate and Banking.
