Already in the hot seat because of an unusual lawsuit against him by Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper, Novi District Judge Brian MacKenzie faces questions by the Free Press Monday over ties between his family members and companies that receive business from his sentencing in drug and alcohol cases.
John Wisely and L.L. Brasier report MacKenzie is known for his get-tough sentencing, ordering defendants to undergo months of daily drug and alcohol testing and use of interlock devices on their cars.
They write:
His court offers the thousands of defendants who pass through annually a list of suggested local testing facilities and interlock vendors, which are privately owned businesses.
Among the recommended facilities: ones his family members have or had financial ties to, a Free Press review of records found.
The judge’s wife is the paid executive director of the Michigan Association of Drug Court Professionals, a nonprofit organization that receives thousands of dollars annually from the drug- and alcohol-testing companies. MacKenzie is that group’s president, an unpaid position.
And his son worked for 16 months at Jail Alternative for Michigan Services, known as JAMS, the largest drug- and alcohol-testing company in metro Detroit.
MacKenzie denies any conflict of interest, saying he receives no financial benefit from any facility and has been ordering testing for years. He said he forces people into treatment programs to help them and keep the community safe.
Scrutiny over MacKenzie’s business ties comes as Cooper has accused him in a lawsuit of improperly dismissing domestic violence cases, falsifying court records and sealing case files to keep them from public scrutiny. The lawsuit is unrelated to the nonprofit agency and his rulings on drug and alcohol cases.
Cooper has asked Oakland County Circuit Judge Colleen O’Brien to intervene and is requesting that her office be allowed to review MacKenzie’s record for the past 10 years.
Previously on Deadline Detroit:
Dec. 5, 2013: Judge Gone Wild?
