By Roberta Gubbins
Legal News
Friday afternoons for the Hon. Janelle Lawless have now become busier as she takes on the duties as Chief Judge of the Ingham County Circuit Court.
Meetings are "part of the Chief Judge (duties), she said, "which means I'm trying to set aside Friday afternoons and a few Friday mornings" as meeting times.
Meetings, administrative and supervisory duties and representing the court in ceremonies are all part of the tasks Lawless took on when her application to be Chief Judge of 30th Circuit Court was accepted.
Commenting on how Chief Judgeships are created, she said, "It is an interesting process now. The Supreme Court appoints the Chief Judge for each court. This year for the first time there was an application type process that you would fill out and submit it to your regional State Court Administrator."
The application, she explained, was not the standard type of resume and accompanying documents but included a request from the applicants for suggestions on changes or issues in their respective courts. Judge Collette's announcement to the bench in August of his impending departure from the Chief Judge role led to her decision to take on the role.
Although the Court rules allow for release time for Chief Judges, "Currently," Lawless said, " I have decided I'm not going to do that. I'm going to play that one by ear, because it has been a lot more work than I thought when I first started. We have a lot of issues and there are a lot of things going on. There are union negotiations and the everyday management issues and court policy issues."
The court rules state that the Chief Judge 'shall have administrative superintending power and control over the judges of the court and all court personnel,' an expansive role. However, the rules also provide that the chief judge may delegate administrative duties as is done in Ingham County.
Judge Lawless said "we are very fortunate that we have an excellent management team. They are great at letting us know what we need to know if something new comes along such as a new procedure coming down from the Supreme Court."
Acknowledging that while judges are autonomous, each having their own methods, "we try to have similar policies in effect such as similar procedures and forms," she said. "We all have our own individual styles as judges," with which she, as Chief Judge, will not interfere.
Lawless has administrative experience having served as Administrator/Register /Attorney Referee for Ingham County Probate Court (1990-2002) before becoming a judge. She is also up to date on the budget process in Ingham County and "I understand union procedures. I have managed staff and actually worked for judges. I worked for two so I really appreciate the role of our managers who have nine judges to work with."
Asked about the possibility of more 'treatment court programs,' she said she would encourage that process. "we are always looking for different ways to provide benefits to litigants such as specialty courts and treatment courts."
The second week of February Judge Lawless will take part in a chief judge school provided by the State Court Administrator through the Michigan Judicial Institute. She surmised that soon she would be a lot smarter about her new role.
Under the new state law regarding reduction of the Judiciary, "we may lose a judge in the Lansing District Court (54A) but it would be by attrition."
She wants to move forward with technology and improve the website to make it easier for people to be able to get the information they need. Working within the county's budget constraints, she wants to add scanning and e-filing and "to take advantage of the technology that we have to make everyone's job easier and more accessible."
The biggest issue she sees coming up is that the juvenile justice mileage is up for renewal this year. "Without that (mileage) it would be much more difficult for us to provide the services for the youth."
"I am looking forward to the next couple of years," she concluded.
Judge Lawless was elected to the bench in January, 2003 and re-elected in 2009. She is a graduate of Central Michigan University and Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Published: Mon, Feb 13, 2012
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