GRAND HAVEN, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – Some help for the 20th Circuit Court, which serves Ottawa County, could be coming.
The court office announced on Thursday that, as a result of the 2019 Judicial Resources Recommendations for the state of Michigan, the Supreme Court is endorsing the addition of an additional judgeship for the court bench. This was based on the State Court Administrative Office’s biennial review, the result of which was determined through a statistical analysis of a weighted caseload formula and a deeper look into the court’s specific needs.
The review concluded that Ottawa County’s nine judges were doing the work of over 10 judges since the last judgeship was created in 2005, due in part to the significant increase in the county’s population.
The state legislature and the county board must agree on the High Court’s recommendations before a new judge can be elected, and Circuit Court Chief Judge Jon Van Allsburg said in a statement that the new judge would probably be assigned to the court’s Family Division.
