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Council opens hearing on subpoena for Judge Martha M. Snow and votes to submit complaint
Summary
After Judge Martha M. Snow declined to appear before a council subpoena, Taylor City Council reviewed service and authority questions and voted to have the council chair file a complaint with the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission, adding hearing transcripts to the submission.
Taylor City Council opened a public hearing Aug. 7 under Section 6.16 of the Taylor City Charter to examine why Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Martha M. Snow ordered the council to appear in her courtroom on June 12, a step council members said may have risked an Open Meetings Act violation.
Chair Mr. Geiss told the public the council had served a subpoena and that county corporation counsel advised the judge would not appear. "We have received communication that Judge Snow is refusing to appear before the Taylor City Council," the chair said during the hearing. City legal staff said they believed service was proper and cited city charter and Home Rule authority for convening hearings and issuing subpoenas. Corporation counsel for Wayne County took the opposite view and said the subpoena's service and the council's authority were not valid.
After extended debate about the valid service of the subpoena, the council voted to direct the council chair to submit a complaint to the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission alleging judicial interference in the council's legislative authority and to include transcripts of the bench hearing. The motion was made by Councilwoman Witten and supported by Councilwoman Brandon; the council approved the motion by voice vote.
Council members who supported the motion characterized the judge's actions as coercive and said the public deserved answers; some members also noted the practical burdens imposed on council members who had been ordered downtown for what they said was an irregular judicial proceeding. The chair said the public hearing was intended to publicly examine a potential Open Meetings Act issue, not to relitigate the original case.
What's next: Corporation counsel will prepare the complaint and the chair will submit it to the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission with the council's direction and supporting transcripts; council members indicated they wanted the complaint to be signed on council letterhead and for multiple members to sign where appropriate.
