BAY CITY, MI — A leadership change in the Bay County Prosecutor’s Office has resulted in a significant number of cases running the risk of dismissal. A remedy is on the table, though, pending approval from the Bay County Board of Commissioners.
In a memorandum submitted to the board on Wednesday, April 9, Bay County Corporation Counsel Amber Davis-Johnson recapped how voters elected Michael P. Kanuszewski as their new prosecutor in the November election. At the time, Kanuszewski worked at the Office of Criminal Defense.
Kanuszewski took office in early January and shortly thereafter named Christopher Johnson as his chief assistant prosecutor. Johnson also worked at the Office of Criminal Defense, Davis-Johnson noted.
This has resulted in a significant number of conflicts of interest, as Kanuszewski, Johnson, and their assistants cannot prosecute cases they were previously involved in while defense attorneys. As a result, Kanuszewski has filed numerous requests with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and the Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council seeking special prosecutors be appointed to handle the cases.
“A large number of cases (well over 100) remain unassigned and risk being dismissed unless counsel is retained as soon as possible to represent the interest of the People of the State of Michigan and of the County,” Davis-Johnson wrote.
To address this, Davis-Johnson proposed the board hire Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Jurij D. Fedorak as a Special Assistant Attorney General. Fedorak would assume prosecutorial duties over the conflicted cases — including active ones, probation violations, and potentially appeals — until they are resolved.
Fedorak would work out of the Bay County Court Facility and would be paid $100,000. The county would also need to hire a part-time legal assistant who would be paid the standard rate of $17.91-$21.35 per hour and not work more than 29 hours per week.
The funds for both positions would come from the current budget of the prosecutor’s office.
Kanuszewski was not involved in selecting Fedorak as a candidate, saying Corporate Counsel handled that to maintain the cases’ integrity.
As of April 10, Kanuszewski’s office was conflicted out of 142 misdemeanor cases and 95 felony ones. Thirty of the misdemeanors and 25 of the felonies have been assigned to special prosecutors, Kanuszewski said. Another 10 felonies have been approved but not assigned special prosecutors, he added.
“It’s not so much getting (the cases) out of my office,” Kanuszewski said. “It’s getting them to new prosecutors.”
The outstanding balance of cases would be handled by Fedorak, assuming the board approves his hiring.
“The county needs it, my office needs it, and it’ll be good for everyone,” Kanuszewski said.
Commissioners are to vote on the resolution at their meeting on Tuesday, April 15.
Kanuszewski defeated incumbent Prosecutor Nancy E. Borushko in the November general election, receiving 33,468 votes to her 25,163. Kanuszewski campaigned on addressing the prosecutor’s office backlog of old files, strengthening communication with police agencies, and increasing transparency with the public.
