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This is an excellent court to apply a growth mindset with the prosecutor and judge. My clients come to this court charged with crimes, but we work to expand the case from the 4 corners of the ticket and police report. It's more equitable for a client to be judged on who they were before the incident and what they are doing in the present to learn and grow. The right approach is what is key to a fair and just outcome in this court.
I have been trying to communicate with 'Judge' M Barton for 18 months with no responses.
Spent the money ,lmao property taxes pay off ,lmao. Simple and easy .. Peace I'm out Patti420
You know I am glad that the court house has that security system in place. It makes me feel safer when I have to go and do business with FOC. The security guards are always so respectful and nice. Just take a wallet in, your car key, and maybe a chapstick because too much metal will make you learn fast to leave the dozens of Keychains in your car.. For a small town court house they're personal and they do their best to work with people no matter the situation. They deserve our respect. 🖤
For traffic citations, beware of wasting your time trying to plead down with the assistant prosecutor (her first name is Amber - she supports the senior prosecutor Melissa Goodrich) prior to an in-person hearing. Regarding the ticket, I missed a stop sign on a 2 lane back road in Nunda Township that I had to travel to reach a cottage rental (I likely came to a near stop or yield at the intersection, as the road I was traveling on was 45mph). This road is very lightly travelled (the sign was actually a full 3 car lengths from the intersection, which is why I missed it). The sheriff (last name Lachapelle) indicated that the locals complain a lot about people blowing the stop sign - while this could be true, I doubt it. His job that day was to issue tickets and collect money for the county, adding to the bad perception of cops many of us have. When pulled over, my initial thought was that I might have been speeding but as it turned out, I missed the stop sign. In hindsight, I likely missed it because I looked down at the navigation screen to verify the turn as this was the first day of the vacation getting to the cottage). I explained to the sheriff that I was unfamiliar with the area, on vacation, and that I have a 20 year clean driving record. He didn't care and issued the ticket. Needless to say, I felt that given the circumstances, I would like to fight the ticket and attempt to ask mercy from the court, pleading down from $125 / 3 points for missing the stop sign to 5mph over, $115 / 0 points. However, since I live in suburban Detroit, it would be a 525 mile round trip commute to the 89th District Court to fight the ticket. The traffic division initially advised me to deny responsibility in order to obtain Amber's contact info, as they wouldn't give it out over the phone. After doing so, I called the prosecutor's office to try to reach Amber; however, Amber's admins refused to patch me through - they said if you want to talk to her, make the 525 mile round trip commute. Dejected, I call back several days later to pay the full amount (because I wasn't going to drive 525 miles) but an admin at the court advised to try Amber's admin again, who, this time, patched me through the Amber...I'm thinking great, hopefully we can resolve it to 0 points! But not so fast... Amber said she spoke with sheriff Lachapelle to prepare for the hearing and told me that unfortunately her position was to hold firm on the 3 point ticket on the ***one-and-only basis*** that the stop sign was ***not obstructed*** (even though I told her it was a full 3 car lengths away from the intersection, making any stop AT the stop sign ***impossible for a driver to see oncoming traffic***). She also said my 20 year clean driving record essentially meant nothing and that my honest mistake needed to be formally acknowledged and punished. Receiving the bad news, I told Amber that I will call back the traffic division and pay the ticket. I also advised her that my family will never set foot in Cheboygan County ever again if this is the way sheriff Lachapelle and her office treats Michigan citizens spending their "up north" tourism dollars. So, here's my free advice / assessment: the local sheriff & prosecutors at the 89th District Court don't care. We aren't talking about a huge difference in lost money in Cheboygan County's coffers...pleading down would have cost them $10. Amber wanted that $10 and me suffering 3 points. After talking to several northern Michigan attorneys, I have learned that Amber is a new "go-getter." It's my assessment that she lacks common sense, missing the big picture. She does Cheboygan County (and, by extension, Melissa Goodrich) a disservice. In this instance, she's already lost Cheboygan tourism dollars from my family, as we will never spend another dollar in that region again. Someone with a 20 year clean driving record such as myself deserved better. She better hope her public sector job lasts because she would never survive in a business / private practice setting.
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