The Associated Press
ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) - Victims and police are caught in the middle of a dispute between the city and county over who will prosecute domestic violence cases.
Adrian City Attorney Dane Nelson informed Lenawee County Prosecutor Irving Shaw on July 15 that, as of Aug. 1, police would be sending domestic violence complaints to his office.
Nelson said his office lacks the staff to handle victim notification and other duties required under Michigan’s domestic violence statute.
“I don’t think it will be that big of a burden for the prosecutor’s office to handle,” Nelson told The Daily Telegram.
Shaw, however, has said his office is unready immediately to take on the Adrian cases, which he said would more than double the 270 domestic violence prosecutions the county handles annually.
“I’ve already told them that I’m going to send them back,” Shaw said. “It’s not so much a question of who is going to pick up the ball as whether they are going to throw it on the ground.”
Police Chief Mike Martin, meanwhile, bristled over what he called Shaw’s refusal to review three domestic violence complaints since Aug. 1.
“I can’t believe a prosecutor would do that, but apparently he can,” Martin said.
In one of the cases, police on Saturday arrested a man who allegedly broke through a locked door at his home, pushed his wife to the floor and choked her in view of their children. She managed to escape and ran to the city police station, then to the city fire station, where firefighters called 911.
Martin said the suspect posted bond and was released from the county jail after his arrest. But he said it was unlikely criminal charges would be sought against the man.
Nelson said he was shocked that Shaw was not reviewing the city’s domestic violence cases.
“Let’s be candid. I’ve never had a public official refuse to do his job like this,” Nelson said.
Until the dispute is resolved, Martin said victims will have to appeal to Shaw’s office to have their cases brought to court.
The police chief said he has told officers to continue making domestic violence arrests. Paperwork still will be forwarded to Shaw’s office - and will carry a notation if he does not review it, Martin said.
Taking on domestic violence cases formerly handled by Nelson will boost the county’s overall caseload by 10 percent, Shaw said, adding that his office already is dealing with a 12 percent increase in overall criminal cases this year.
Shaw said his office would be able to take on domestic violence cases from Adrian if his staff were expanded. But he said that would not happen until the county receives documentation needed to pursue additional funding.
“Right now I don’t have enough hard data to tell you what I need,” he told the county Board of Commissioners’ criminal justice committee last week.
Martin said he has notified the state Attorney General’s Office about the situation, and it has indicated it wants to be updated on cases Shaw refuses to review.
Shaw contrasted the short notice Nelson gave his office with other counties that have taken over local domestic violence prosecutions.
In neighboring Washtenaw County, the prosecutor’s office and the city of Ann Arbor worked out “an orderly way to make the transition. I can’t imagine why the city (of Adrian) wouldn’t come to us and explain what they were thinking and how they could work with us on this.”