Tagged: jackson

The Michigan Supreme Court has removed a Jackson judge from the bench for misconduct, which included dismissing his own traffic tickets.     

District Judge James Justin has been on suspension with pay since July of 2010. The judge had been under investigation for ‘fixing’ numerous traffic tickets issued to himself, his wife and members of his staff.  

Judge Justin was also accused of dismissing cases without conducting court hearings.  The Judicial Tenure Commission recommended last fall to remove Justin.  

In its order removing Justin from the bench, the Michigan Supreme Court found the judge routinely “failed to follow the law, apparently believing that it simply did not apply to him.”    

The judge’s attorney admits his client did wrong, but added that he deserved only an unpaid suspension.  Justin has been on the bench since 1976.

The city of Jackson is looking to get more aggressive with home demolitions. Officials razed two houses to kick off its Neighborhood Stabilization Program today.

Jackson Mayor Marty Griffin says as many as 600 homes in the city appear to be vacant.

"Most of these houses need more than $100,000 in repair," Griffin said. "And for a private person to step up to the plate and put that kind of money into a house that they’re going to be able to sell for $30,000 is just not going to happen."

Demolition costs run about $11,000 for a single-family home.

Postal workers plan to fight a proposal to close mail processing centers in Michigan.    

Postal Service officials confirmed this week they plan to move forward with closing more than 200 processing centers nationwide next year. That includes facilities in a half dozen Michigan cities, including Lansing, Jackson and Kalamazoo.