Novi Judge to Face Judge Monday in Show-Cause Hearing

Judge Brian W. MacKenzie, of Novi's 52nd District Court, is under scrutiny based on several allegations including that he dismissed cases when prosecutors weren't present and falsified records.

The next step in the case is a show-cause hearing before Oakland County Circuit Judge Leo Bowman on Monday, according to WXYZ-TV Channel 7 News, who may require MacKenzie to testify. At the hearing, the prosecutor's office must produce evidence demonstrating "probable cause" that he committed the crime.

The prosecutor's office wants Oakland County Circuit Court to order MacKenzie, who has sat on the district bench since 1988, to explain his actions over the last decade. Prosecutor Jessica Cooper filed a 238-page complaint, the Detroit Free Press reported.

“District Judge Brian MacKenzie has been secretly setting aside valid convictions entered in plaintiff’s cases ... taking pleas on misdemeanor cases and then subsequently setting the sentences for dates when no assistant prosecutor is present,” she said in the complaint, according to the Free Press.

Until now, MacKenzie was better known for his programs like “Veterans Court," which helps veterans overcome addiction and mental health issues, for which he was featured in a documentary on Detroit Public TV.