Detroit council approves ordinance shifting many misdemeanors to city prosecutors

Detroit's City Council on Aug. 31 approved an ordinance that moves many misdemeanor prosecutions from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office to the City of Detroit's law department, a change supporters said will increase local oversight and create more predictable handling of quality-of-life offenses.

The ordinance, sponsored by Council Member Scott Vincent, passed on a roll-call vote after a multi-hour discussion of costs, responsibilities and implementation. "This is a historic change," Douglas Baker, chief of criminal enforcement in the city's law department, said as the department explained how it would staff and operate the program. "We're bringing those prosecutions closer to the people of the city of Detroit, closer to oversight by Detroit officials."

The ordinance amends Chapter 31 of the 2019 Detroit City Code to create city misdemeanor offenses that mirror state-law misdemeanors (including retail fraud, larceny variants, malicious destruction of property, certain firearm offenses and other listed counts) and adds related procedural sections. Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett told the council the ordinance also "encourages" restorative justice measures, delayed sentencing and specialty court referrals "anytime the defendant is eligible." He said the law department will report results to the legislative body so the council can monitor compliance.

Supporters and city attorneys said the law department will hire new staff to implement the change: corporation counsel and budget staff described an estimate of about $700,000 for new positions (four attorneys, two paralegals and support staff) plus roughly $50,000 for case-tracking software licensing. "The law department's budget was formulated for fiscal year '26 with an increase to the budget," Donnie Johnson, acting deputy CFO and budget director, said, adding that the baseline budget already included additional funding and eight FTEs tied to criminal enforcement work.

Tony Guerrero, chief of legislation, grants and community relations for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office (speaking for Prosecutor Kim Worthy), said the office strongly supported the ordinance package and the restorative justice portions, though he noted Wayne County will continue to prosecute domestic-violence cases for the foreseeable future. "Prosecutor Kim Worthy is 150% in favor of this," Guerrero said.

Council members pressed for clarity on costs and timing. Council Member Amber Waters and others raised concerns that the law department had no current vacancies and would need to add new positions to handle the increased workload; city budget staff said the additional funding and FTEs were included in the law department's budget book and four attorneys and two paralegals would be new hires. Member Vincent said the council aims to begin the transition in 2026 and emphasized a phased approach and continued coordination with county partners.

The ordinance was moved by Member Vincent and approved on third reading by roll call: Callaway — yes; Young — yes; Sheffield — no; Benson — yes; Durhall — yes; Johnson — yes; Santiago Romero — yes; Tate — yes; Waters — yes. The council confirmed the ordinance title and requested further implementation details from the law department and OCFO as the city prepares to assume prosecutions.

What happens next: City attorneys said the law department will finalize staffing, secure software licenses to integrate with existing court and prosecutor systems, and coordinate a transition timeline with the county and 36th District Court. Council members requested continued reporting on costs, case counts and restorative-justice outcomes.