Court: Emails Between Judge, Prosecutor Didn’t Spoil Trial

gaveltakenbyandrew-258
gaveltakenbyandrew-258

From the Associated Press — A man convicted of criminal sexual conduct doesn’t deserve a new trial, despite learning that a western Michigan judge was sharing her opinion of the case through emails with a prosecutor. That’s the 2-1 opinion from the Michigan Court of Appeals. Daniel Loew had been granted a new trial, but the decision by the appeals court now reverses that decision. An Allegan
County jury in 2019 convicted Loew of criminal sexual conduct. It turns out that Judge Margaret Zuzich-Bakker sent emails to prosecutor Myrene Koch during the trial, asking a question about the victim and offering an unflattering opinion about state police. The appeals court says the emails didn’t provide an advantage to the prosecution. Koch wasn’t the trial prosecutor.