Court Reform & Judical REform

Restoring Impartial Justice and Protecting Michigan Families

The foundation of our court reform platform is built on impartial justice for all. God, the Constitution, the Family and freedom must be the foundation for our courts and the justice system in Michigan. For far too long, the people of our state have suffered at the hands of an out of control and out of touch system that seems more concerned with crushing people with its biases, its partisan attacks, its politically calculated rulings, and its assault on our most basic rights and liberties. This MUST change! We want a system based on honesty, transparency, accountability and impartial justice. We want a system that is not politically rigged in any way. We want a system that truly protects our families, and not one that punishes families.

Judges who have ethics complaints against them, judges who seem to rule in favor of their campaign donors, and judges who seem to have some sort of political or activist agenda are NOT what the people of our great state want. There are a number of high profile cases and decisions in Michigan that have brought up a lot of questions as to the integrity and the impartiality of our courts. These questions involve everything from judicial overreach, to prosecutorial misconduct, to outside influences and pressure. The truth is coming out about many of these situations due to continuing investigations and patriot demand for transparency. Michigan First will expose the hidden puppet masters that are impacting our system and we will hold accountable those that refuse to defend impartial justice.

Here is just a sample of the steps we will take to restore fairness, transparency and accountability to our justice system:

Hold judges accountable: We will push for term limits for judges. We will also demand full financial disclosure for judges, and we will create citizen review boards to investigate ethics complaints.

Stop activist judging: We will fight to make sure judges are chosen based on their oath to uphold the original intent of the Constitution, and not to legislate from the bench.

Fix the judicial selection process: We must stop backroom deals and ensure that judges are chosen based on merit and not politics.

Speed up trials and lower the costs: The current system is too slow, and the costs to defendants are too high. We need to streamline the process so that defendants receive due process more quickly.

Parental Rights:

The rights of fit parents to direct the upbringing of their children must be guaranteed and defended by the court system and government in our state. Family courts must become the first line of defense of the family unit, not an adversary to be battled when CPS becomes involved. The first and most important place to start when it comes to reform of the courts is to look at family courts, parental rights, and child protective services. We believe a strong state starts with strong families. 

This means standing with families, protecting parents and their rights, and ensuring that all children in our state are safe and able to be raised by their fit parents when at all possible.

We will start by creating a presumption of joint custody where both fit parents have equal rights and responsibilities toward their children unless there is clear evidence that this is not in the children’s best interests.

Codify Parental Rights: The right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children is a fundamental right that is protected by the U.S. Supreme Court. We will make this harder to override by codifying this in our state Constitution and laws.

Fix CPS: CPS is supposed to ensure children are safe, but often the families they encounter are broken apart and not necessarily because the child is at risk. We will change this by requiring a higher standard of proof before a child is removed from the home, require a reunification plan within a much shorter time frame, and end perverse incentives that reward more intervention.

Protect children, but empower parents: Let’s be clear, our focus on CPS and the courts should not be a focus on denying children to fit parents, but rather making sure CPS and courts focus on true child welfare issues like abuse and neglect. We can protect children AND protect parents from overzealous, politically motivated, or ideologically driven actions.

Patriots across our state want a court system that honors God-given rights, upholds the Constitution, and protects our families. This is a great first step in the right direction, but it is just a start.

MICHIGAN FIRST. PATRIOTS FIRST. AMERICA FIRST.