MAGISTRATE J. MICHAEL JAMES, DECEMBER 2008

Temporary magistrate named in South Haven
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Kalamazoo Gazette
Gazette Staff Reports
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-32/1233935424202050.xml&coll=7


PAW PAW -- Van Buren County commissioners have appointed David Hill as temporary magistrate of the Seventh District Court West Division in South Haven, replacing J. Michael James, who is retiring after his arrest in December for allegedly driving while intoxicated.

James, 61, is stepping down effective Monday, which is the same day he is scheduled for a pretrial conference on the drunken-driving charge, according to the Herald-Palladium of St. Joseph. He previously pleaded not guilty.

James is also being investigated in a related case of alleged domestic violence. Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz was assigned by the state attorney general's office to conduct the investigation, after Van Buren County Prosecutor Juris Kaps asked for a special prosecutor because of his longtime working association with James.

Van Buren County Chief Circuit Judge Paul Hamre suspended James from his position with pay after his arrest, which occurred after James followed an ambulance carrying his wife to Allegan General Hospital in early December. An Allegan Police Department report said an officer administered three breath tests to James, each showing a blood-alcohol level of more than Michigan's 0.08 level for drunken driving.

James said his wife was injured in a fall. The Allegan police report, however, indicated the victim, who was not named in the report, suffered severe trauma to the head and torso and that doctors considered having her taken by helicopter to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.

James was appointed magistrate in 1981.

Van Buren County magistrate, J. Michael James, suspended after arrest
By Sarah Crone Kalamazoo Gazette
December 30, 2008, 12:08PM
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2008/12/van_buren_county_magistrate_j.html

ALLEGAN -- A Van Buren County court magistrate was arrested earlier this month for allegedly driving while intoxicated to Allegan General Hospital to be with his injured wife, according to a police report.

Magistrate J. Michael James has been suspended with pay from his job, said Paul Hamre, chief judge of the Van Buren County Circuit Court.

A report from the Allegan City Police Department shows that a separate investigation was to be conducted into whether James' wife had been assaulted or whether her injuries were the result of an accident.

The woman, who is not named in the report, suffered severe trauma to the head and upper torso area. The report says doctors considered airlifting her to Bronson Methodist Hospital for treatment, although it does not state whether that occurred.

James told police his wife sustained the injuries in a fall, the report says.

He is scheduled to have a pretrial hearing Jan. 9 on the misdemeanor drunken driving charge.

The Gazette was unable to reach James, 61, for comment Monday.

He is the magistrate and administrator at Van Buren County's 7th District Court East Division in South Haven. He was first appointed magistrate in 1981.

According to the police report, James followed an ambulance that was carrying his wife to the hospital in early December.

Police were dispatched to the hospital on reports of a disorderly person in the waiting room who appeared to be drunk, urinating in his pants and, at one point, passing out.

Allegan police officer Jay Gibson wrote in the police report that James smelled of alcohol and told the officer that he'd had vodka tonics that evening.

According to the report, Gibson conducted three separate breath tests that showed James had a blood-alcohol level of 0.127 percent in one test and 0.13 percent in two subsequent tests. The legal limit for driving in Michigan is 0.08 percent.

The report said that a Van Buren County Sheriff's Department deputy was dispatched to the hospital to investigate the injuries to James' wife. The Allegan report does not say whether that occurred.

Hamre said the Van Buren County Judicial Council, composed of the county's judges and headed by him, is expected discuss the suspension and reason behind it at a future date that has not yet been determined.

The case also could be addressed by the state Judicial Tenure Commission and/or the State Court Administrative Office, Hamre said.







Temporary magistrate David Hill appointed to district court in South Haven
MLIVE
By Ed Finnerty
February 05, 2009, 12:04AM
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/02/temporary_magistrate_david_hil.html


PAW PAW -- Van Buren County commissioners have appointed David Hill as temporary magistrate of the Seventh District Court West Division in South Haven, replacing J. Michael James, who is retiring after his arrest in December for allegedly driving while intoxicated.

James, 61, is stepping down effective Monday, which is the same day he is scheduled for a pretrial conference on the drunken-driving charge, according to the Herald-Palladium of St. Joseph. He previously pleaded not guilty.

James is also being investigated in a related case of alleged domestic violence.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz was assigned by the state attorney general's office to conduct the investigation, after Van Buren County Prosecutor Juris Kaps asked for a special prosecutor because of his longtime working association with James.

Van Buren County Chief Circuit Judge Paul Hamre suspended James from his position with pay after his arrest, which occurred after James followed an ambulance carrying his wife to Allegan General Hospital in early December.

An Allegan Police Department report said an officer administered three breath tests to James, each showing a blood-alcohol level of more than Michigan's 0.08 level for drunken driving.

James said his wife was injured in a fall. The Allegan police report, however, indicated the victim, who was not named in the report, suffered severe trauma to the head and torso and that doctors considered having her taken by helicopter to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.

James was appointed magistrate in 1981.





Ex-magistrate pleads guilty to impaired driving
By Mickey Ciokajlo
February 10, 2009, 12:28AM
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/02/exmagistrate_pleads_guilty_to.html

ALLEGAN -- A former Van Buren County magistrate who retired after his arrest for drunken driving pleaded guilty Monday to driving while impaired.

J. Michael James, 61, of Bloomingdale Township, was originally charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated but pleaded to the lesser charge of impaired driving. Both violations are misdemeanors.

James was sentenced to three to six months of probation.

As part of his sentence, Allegan District Judge Joseph Skocelas ordered James to submit to random alcohol testing and substance-abuse assessment. James also is expected to pay $815 in fines, court costs and other fees, a court official said.

Police arrested James Dec. 5 after he followed an ambulance carrying his wife to Allegan General Hospital. Police were called to the hospital on reports that James was being disorderly in the waiting room.

James' wife was treated at the hospital for severe trauma to the head and upper torso area, according to a police report. James told an officer that she was injured in a fall, the report said.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz has been appointed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the injuries to James' wife.

Paul Hamre, chief judge of the Van Buren County Circuit Court, suspended James with pay after his arrest in December. James then retired, effective Monday.