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Q & A with Judge Darnell Jackson, Saginaw County Circuit Court

By Cindy M. Huss posted 12-01-2017 09:08

  

Judge Darnell Jackson is Chief Judge of the Saginaw County Circuit Court. He hears both civil and criminal cases. Before becoming a circuit judge in 2006, Judge Jackson was an assistant city attorney, Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor, a deputy police chief, Director of Drug Control Policy for the State of Michigan, and a district court judge. He is a frequent speaker in the community, a published author, and a collector of clocks.


What is the worst and best thing a lawyer can do in your court?

One of the worst things would be to not file a written response to a motion. It is not a good plan to show up on the hearing date to respond orally. I carefully review every file, motion, and response before the hearing to familiarize myself with the parties’ positions and the controlling authority. The failure to respond in writing interferes with my ability to fully prepare for the hearing.

Because I am fully prepared, I want the lawyers to keep their arguments on a motion short and to the point. They can be confident that I have read their briefs and that I am familiar with their positions and the applicable law.

When is your motion call?

Motions in civil cases are heard on Monday mornings. In criminal cases, they are heard on Monday afternoons. Lawyers should check in with my clerk when they arrive at court. There is no limit on the number of motions that can be heard. My law clerk is willing to talk to lawyers about when their motions can be heard for scheduling purposes before they contact the clerk’s office. We move quickly through the cases. No one has ever accused me of being slow.

What role does your law clerk play?

My law clerk checks and updates the authority cited by lawyers. This helps me be prepared for the hearing. It is important that lawyers cite the most relevant and current authority to support their position. I will know if they don’t.

When is a brief required?

Always. Any time you file a motion or response, you should support it with a brief unless it is a really simple request. This gets back to my answer about the best and worst thing you can do in my courtroom. No matter the court, you should never put the burden on the judge to research the law. You should always support your position with appropriate and current legal authority.

How should a lawyer request an adjournment?

Frankly, I feel adjournment is a bad word. I will grant an adjournment but only for good cause shown. Something must have come up unexpectedly. I may consider an adjournment if the parties are truly on the verge of settlement based on last-minute discovery, but I rarely grant adjournments.

What happens at your settlement conferences?

I handle the settlement conferences myself. I want someone with settlement authority to be there in person or accessible by telephone. If a settlement is reached, we will go on the record with the terms and note that it will be reduced to writing at a later point. If the parties feel they are close to settlement, I will leave the case set for trial while they continue to negotiate. The key requirement is that someone with settlement authority be involved in the process.

How are trial dates set?

At the beginning of the year, each court sets an individualized calendar for the year, which outlines the specific number of weeks that the court will be hearing civil cases, criminal cases, and nonjury cases. This predetermined calendar cycle is provided to the trial coordinator for the setting of trials within the applicable time frames. Occasionally, for older files, “date certain” trials are set by the court to ensure that the trial will move forward on that date and be completed in a timely fashion.

We are currently looking for ways to improve the process for handling a case through trial. For example, we held a series of bench/bar meetings in Saginaw County to review the process for pretrial orders to make it more effective and streamlined. It’s still a work in progress, but it is something that we believe will help with the overall administration of our court system.

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