Judge Brian MacKenzie
Some wild accusations are flying in Oakland County and they're aimed at a District Court judge.
L.L. Braiser and John Wisely of the Detroit Free Press report that the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office is accusing Novi's 52nd District Judge Brian MacKenzie of going rogue and breaking the law.
Specifically, the prosecutor's office is accusing MacKenzie, a former Michigan assistant attorney general, of falsifying court records, improperly dismissing cases and concealing public documents, according to the Freep.
Top prosecutor Jessica Cooper filed a 238-page complaint in Oakland County Circuit Court last week that says:
“District Judge Brian MacKenzie has been secretly setting aside valid convictions entered in plaintiff’s cases ... taking pleas on misdemeanor cases and then subsequently setting the sentences for dates when no assistant prosecutor is present."
The Freep wrote:
MacKenzie would then take the conviction “under advisement,” meaning he would dismiss it if the defendant stayed out of trouble and order the case be made non-public. Such deals require a prosecutor’s approval.
The Freep says MacKenzie was not available for comment.
It reports that Cooper wants the Oakland County Circuit Court to correct MacKenzie’s actions and let her office review his cases dating back 10 years.
A hearing before Circuit Judge Leo Bowman is set for Monday.
His bio talks of many awards he's won while on the bench. It also states:
After receiving his Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University law School, Judge MacKenzie began serving the public as a Law Clerk at the Michigan Attorney General's Office, Organized Crime Division. Upon graduation and admittance to the practice of law in 1974, he joined the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney. In 1979, he returned to the Michigan Attorney General's Office as an Assistant Attorney General where he remained until he was appointed to the 52nd District Court, 1st Division, in March of 1988.
