Hon. Andrew W. Kowalkowski was appointed judge for the 44th District Court in April 2022. Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Kowalkowski was an administrative law examiner for the Michigan Department of State, and before that, he was a general practitioner focused on criminal defense in and around Oakland County.
Where can lawyers find your courtroom protocols, and what is something that lawyers often miss about them?
Currently, we do not publish any prescribed courtroom protocols, although that is something we are considering for the future. My courtroom is a hybrid of in-person and Zoom. Dispositive motions, preliminary exams, trials, sentencings, and violations of probation are all in person. Any pre-trials, probable cause conferences, and motions that do not call for testimony are typically going to be virtual by default.
For lawyers who have never been in your courtroom, what is your check-in process?
When appearing in person it is helpful to let the court officer, probation officer, or clerk know which case file you are appearing on that day. For the virtual docket, the most important thing to do is to label your screen name accurately.
What are your preferences for how lawyers handle proposed and stipulated orders?
We are a MiFile court for our civil cases, and as such, all orders must be submitted through that system. For all case types, my expectation is that all stipulated orders should contain the signatures of both parties. Adjournment requests should be in the form of a stipulated order.
Are there particular members of your staff that lawyers should contact about certain things?
A good place to start is with our court clerks for your specific case type. Additionally, my judicial assistant/court recorder is responsible for keeping an accurate record of all court hearings, scheduling hearings and trials, preparing or ordering transcripts, scheduling meetings and appointments, screening calls, and handling correspondence.
What information and forms do you require at your pretrial conferences?
I expect that parties will diligently work their files between court appearances. I utilize pretrial conferences to check in on that progress. I set regular pretrial conferences, but I do not require any formal submissions from the parties.
What can lawyers expect about your expectations and approach to ADR?
The Oakland County Bar Association has several low cost and effective alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services that I have seen used with frequent success. While considering the needs of the case, it has been my approach to require ADR in most unresolved matters before a case gets to the point of trial.
What do you think makes a written motion or brief compelling or persuasive?
I find briefs that cite specific exhibits or testimony to be the most persuasive. I have noticed that some attorneys have started to snip portions of photographs, PDFs, or testimony and put them into the body of the brief itself. I find this particularly helpful, especially in situations where there are lengthy exhibits attached.
What are some common mistakes lawyers make during oral argument?
Personal attacks on the other party really tend to turn me off to your position. I understand that, at times, egregious behavior needs to be addressed by the court, however, for most cases, stick to the merits.
Is there anything in particular lawyers should know about how you conduct trials?
I like to get started early. We set our jury trials at 8:30 a.m. That is not the day to be late to court with jurors waiting.
I am a former trial attorney. I always appreciated the room to conduct a thorough jury selection. As a result, it has been my approach as a judge to ask a limited series of foundational questions during voir dire and then really allow the parties to take it from there as they see fit.
What do you think is the most commonly misinterpreted court rule or rule of evidence?
Hearsay and the exceptions to it.
What is the best advice you got from a mentor?
Some of the best advice I received from a mentor was to take the time to read through the Michigan Court Rules more often than never.
Are there particular practice resources you think lawyers should consult?
When I was practicing, I handled a lot of traffic cases and used the MDOS Offense Code Index often. I found SADO’s practice resources to be exceptionally helpful along with many ICLE books and online resources. Of course, every attorney should keep a copy of the Michigan Court Rules close. Also, while in private practice, I often turned to the MJI bench-books as a starting point for any issue.
What is something interesting you do off the bench?
My family and I love exploring our national parks.
Is there anything else you would like Michigan lawyers to know?
If you are running late, please give us a call.