Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Unbiased Judge

The fact that the judges "know" the victim is not reason in and of itself to have them all recused from the case. There must be evidence that there is a close enough connection that the judges cannot be neutral on the legal issues, or that there is an appearance of impropriety. A motion will have to be filed with the assigned judge and the chief judge if you want to pursue this issue.

Since your son was a juvenile, the Family Court judge MUST have ordered HIM to pay "full restitution" to the victim, even though he was then unable to pay. Under the Crime Victim Rights Act, the court must order all defendants to pay full restitution to all victims in the course of conduct that gave rise to the conviction. That order is mandatory and never expires until it is paid in full. The defendant's ability/inability to pay is not a factor in deciding what the "full restitution" amount should properly be; only the victims' losses count.

In delinquency cases, the court MAY (not "must") order the parent(s) who had supervisory responsibility of the minor at the time of the delinquenct act to pay "any portion" of the child's restitution order. (The public policy reason is to encourage parents to do a better job of supervising their kids, and to help victims get restitution paid quicker.) Importantly, the parent's ability to pay / hardship IS a factor the court must weigh in deciding what portion of the child's restitution amount to order to be co-paid by the parent(s). In extreme cases of hardship, the court can order $0.00 to be paid by the parent. Also, this issue can be revisited down the road if circumstances change. In my opinion, the judge is wise to 'table' your request for a few months to see if your circumstances change for the better because once your order is canceled, it may be impossible to reinstate it if your finances do improve.

One thing the court should do right now is to order a wage assignment (garnishment) against your son's pay check. If he is on probation still, the court can easily order it. If he is not, then the victim or Prosecutor will have to file a motion to get that order put in place ... and periodically renew the motion when the garnishment order expires. The victim or Prosecutor can also file a motion to garnish his bank accounts and even his Michigan income tax refunds to go toward restitution.

Re: Unbiased Judge

I'd recommend that you contact Attorney Sally Miller in her Lapeer office. Speak with her or with Attorney Hayley Silverberg in Ms. Miller's office. They are both very fine lawyers that might offer you some assistance if you'd like an attorney to represent you.