Daily Briefs

Ackerman wins election to 2nd District Court of Appeals seat


(Gongwer News Service) — Attorney Matthew Ackerman won election to the Court of Appeals to represent the bench's 2nd District on Tuesday, beating candidate Latoya Willis by a healthy margin, according to unofficial election results.

Ackerman will replace Judge Kathleen Jansen on the appellate bench in 2025. The attorney is a partner at Ackerman & Ackerman and had the backing of Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement, Justice David Viviano and Justice Brian Zahra. While generally seen as the conservative option, he also had support from well-known Democrats like Justice Richard Bernstein, former Governor Jim Blanchard and Carl Marlinga, the former Macomb County prosecutor who was the Democratic nominee in the 10th U.S. House District the last two cycles.

He earned 565,230 votes, according to the state's unofficial results for 55 percent of the vote. Willis earned 461,563 votes, or 44.9 percent in the two-way race.

A third candidate was in the race, Randy Wallace, before Governor Gretchen Whitmer in August appointed him to replace Judge Deborah Servitto, whose seat was also up for grabs. His appointment meant he and Judge Adrienne Young became the sole candidates for incumbent seats, meaning Wallce received incumbent designation on Michigan ballots. No one challenged him or Young, so they both won election Tuesday.

‘Fundamentals of Problem-Solving Courts’ offered online Dec. 4-5


The Michigan Judicial Institute will present “Fundamentals of Problem-Solving Courts” hosted by Problem-Solving Courts (PSC) online Wednesday and Thursday, December 4-5, from 9 a.m to 1 p.m. via Zoom.

This training will focus on the fundamentals of a successful problem-solving court, such as screenings and assessments, the team approach, team meetings and review hearings, treatment, drug testing, behavioral responses, confidentiality, due process, data and evaluation, and a solid understanding of addiction and mental health.  

This training is required for judges and coordinators of programs receiving first-year funding through any SCAO problem-solving court grant program, and new problem-solving court teams and team members are strongly encouraged to attend.  It is also recommended for more-experienced team members who want a refresher.

For registration information, contact PSC@courts.mi.gov.  After registering, participants will receive a separate e-mail with the Zoom credentials 24-48 hours before the training.

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