Politics & Government

Shared Court Services with Grosse Pointe Woods, Shores to End

Grosse Pointe Woods council voted unanimously Monday to send a notice to Grosse Pointe Shores alerting them that the shared use of the judge will end within 90 days of receiving the notification.

Shared court services between and will end in about 90 days after the Woods council voted Monday to send a letter of notice. 

The decision follows what Woods officials described as failed attempts to reach an agreement with Grosse Pointe Shores. Woods city attorney Don Berschback told the council Monday that he had been in contact with the Shores and the response has simply been to leave the system to work as it is now. 

Shores City Manager Brian Vick said the Woods wasn't negotiating in trying to reach an agreement, explaining the only agreement Woods officials were ameanable to is "a complete takeover" in which all of the court services would have been moved from the Shores municipal building to the Woods municipal building.

Find out what's happening in Grosse Pointewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Vick said the Shores is unwilling to give up having court hearings in their own jurisdiction. Such a change could have had impacted the Shores in many ways, he said, listing the potential for increased cost, staffing scheduling problems and an inconvenience to Shores residents.

Michigan State Courts revealed that . The issue was administrative only and a glitch in the law that did not account for municipalities such as the Shores, that was previously classified as a village.

Find out what's happening in Grosse Pointewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For years, the Shores had contracted the services of the Grosse Pointe Woods judge to administer their court, which was allowed as a village but not as a city. Technically, they have to establish their own municipal court or send all of their court duties to the state court, which would be in downtown Detroit.

In March the two municipalities began discussions to work out an agreement that would allow the Shores to fall under the Woods municipal court umbrella and continue operations essentially as they have been. The Shores initiated the contact with the Woods by sending a draft of a proposal.

Part of the agreement, from the Woods perspective, is that the residents from both municipalities should be voting on a referendum to allow the courts to share services–spurring Monday's decision, which was the eve of the filing deadline to get anything on the November ballot. 

Novitke said ultimately residents from both communities should be voting on the judge, which makes the referendum necessary to establish the parameters of sharing the services. Novitke expressed such concern early on in discussions with the Shores.

Vick however says two attorneys have told him a referendum isn't necessary. Establishing a shared court isn't something the residents had to vote upon as along as the two communities reached an agreement, the system could have continued to operate as it has been, Vick said, noting the attorneys who shared their opinions did not review the Woods' charter.

The notification approved by the Woods council Monday will be sent to the Shores this week, as it was immediately certified, and the Shores will have 90 days or less to find other arrangements for their court, according to the notification. 

Berschback said it was his understanding that the Shores has been in discussion with about working out some sort of agreement for court services. 

Vick confirmed that conversations with the Farms have been ongoing and he plans to discuss the option with Shores council members tonigth during their meeting. Although the 90-day deadline isn't ideal, Vick believes an agreement can be reached and the transition to a different judge is doable.

If an agreement between the Farms and the Shores is reached, it will need the approval of both city councils before it could be implemented. The Farms judge, Matthew Rumora, would take over the Shores docket and cases wherever they were left off by Woods Judge Theodore Metry, Vick said.

The transition, Vick is hopeful, will not affect service to residents or those who are currently handling cases in the Shores court. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here