By Ed White
Associated Press Writer
DETROIT (AP) — Justice isn’t served by a one-sided judge, according to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
The court recently threw out personal-protection orders against an Oakland County couple who were drawn into a dispute with neighbors.
A judge had signed the orders without giving the pair a chance to fully defend themselves.
“In civil cases, due process generally requires notice of the nature of the proceedings, a meaningful time and manner to be heard and an impartial decision maker,” an appeals panel said.
Andrea and Nelson Najer wanted to show a video, and 13 neighbors wanted to testify in the couple’s defense at a court hearing in August 2008. But a transcript shows Judge Charles Simon wasn’t interested.
“Because the animosity exists here, it’s obvious there’s got to be a personal-protection order,” said Simon, a 78-year-old retired judge from Montcalm County who was handling the Oakland County case as a visiting judge.
At another point, Simon said: “They took an oath to tell the truth, you took an oath to tell the truth and who am I supposed to believe?”
The judge said court hearings on personal-protection orders are the “worst thing” in the U.S. justice system.
Simon could not be reached for comment and phone calls to his home in Edmore went unanswered.
The protection orders against the Najers expired in 2009 while the appeal was pending, but their attorney, Chuck Kronzek said the ruling by the appeals court is important.
“My clients feel good and vindicated,” he said. “This case was troubling. This isn’t a one-shot deal. This is a repetitive problem” with Simon.
In October, a different three-judge panel on the appeals court overturned a protection order issued by Simon because of a “dearth of relevant findings.”
Simon stopped hearing cases as a visiting judge in Oakland County after 2008 because other retired local judges were available, court administrator Kevin Oeffner said.
“Complaints were few and far between, not any more than normal,” Oeffner said.
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