Judge Michael HaleyPresiding: Honorable Michael Haley

Judge

The 86th District Court serves three counties in Michigan—Grand Traverse, Antrim, and Leelanau–with a total population of 131,000 people. Traverse City is just a portion of the court’s jurisdiction. The 86th District Court has operated a DWI Court since December 2001, serving residents of the three counties who have been convicted of a DWI 2nd offense. Court is held in Grand Traverse County every day of the week, in Antrim County on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and in Leelanau County on Fridays.

The DWI Court has 100-120 participants, having graduated nearly 200. Two full-time probation officers are assigned to DWI Court and manage a caseload of 50-60 at any given time, which includes home visits as part of their intensive supervision.

In addition to the probation officers, other persons regularly involved with the day-to-day operation of this program are:

  • The judge,
  • One prosecutor,
  • Five treatment providers,
  • Three defense counsel,
  • One police officer, and;
  • Members of the recovery community.

The Mission Statement is:

“To reduce the incidence of DWI offenses by providing a program utilizing intensive probation and judicial supervision for DWI 2nd offenders who are chemically dependent.”

This is a post-adjudication model wherein new arrests are fast-tracked for arraignment before the judge on Wednesday mornings when they are screened by the prosecutor, meet with assigned defense counsel and a substance abuse assessment professional and may be sentenced the following Wednesday to commence a 2-year probation in DWI Court. Team Case Review meetings are held every Tuesday at Noon. Review hearings with the participants are conducted both in the morning and afternoon on each Wednesday. The participants start the program with Phase I.

The Phases include the following:

  • PHASE I which is the “Stabilization & Treatment” period last a minimum 4 months. It includes: Preliminary Breath Tests (PBT), given daily; Urine Analysis (UA), given weekly on a random basis; review hearings and probation officer meetings, twice a month for both the hearings and the probation officer meetings; 90 12-step meetings in 90 days; and random home visits.
  • PHASE II is called the “Healthy Living Plan” and will last three to six months. It includes PBT’s given daily which will turn into random testing weekly; UA’s given twice a month on a random basis; Monthly review hearings and PO meetings; attending 12 step meetings, three times a week; the participant must develop a healthy living plan; and random home visits.
  • PHASE III, also known as the “Maintenance-Community Service-Graduation” may last up to 14 months. It has the same components as Phase II, plus they have to implement the Healthy Living Plan that was developed in Phase II, complete the “Back to Basics” program–twice; write a narrative describing how the participant has changed in DWI Court, and all fines and costs must be paid in full.

The three counties in the 86th District have realized significant cost savings as well, primarily in the cost of jail bed days saved. The program enjoys the support and cooperation of Munson Medical Center, Catholic Human Services, Addiction Treatment Services, and Goodwill Industries who together provide a continuum of care for each participant with home supervision, transition housing, assessment and testing. The motto is carried on the nalgene bottles given to new Phase II participants: Life is Good.