The Friend of the Court and Judge Borchard have made some changes to the current schedule and process of Referee Hearings/Judge Hearings to better accommodate the Court and the private bar.  Please review the attached LAO for where to notice your cases and the below internal changes. 

Please note- the attached LAO has been submitted to the State for Approval and at this point is not final until it is assigned an LAO number by the state but we will proceed with scheduling while the final approval is pending.  Once it has received its final approval, it will be uploaded on the Saginaw County Website. 

Internal Changes:

·         MOTION DAY: Judge will  hear motions on Monday mornings and Referee’s will hear motions Monday afternoons to try and assist with private attorney scheduling.  Motion schedules will be as follows effective March 8, 2020.  Any previously set motions for after that date will remain as set unless otherwise adjourned by the attorney:

o   Judge

§  9:00 a.m.  A-G

§  10:00 a.m. H-O

§  11:00 a.m. P- Z

§  1:30 Pro per Pro Cons *atty represented pro cons will be during the normal morning alpha split. 

o   Referee:

§  1:30 A-G (Kathy)

§  2:30 H-O (Maricella)

§  3:30 P-Z (Randy)  

·         FOC Staff Attorneys will set time to interview minor children as a part of investigation process unless 1) the parties agree the minor children do not need to be interviewed, 2) the child is not of sufficient age or capability to express preference.  Interviews for MC will occur on a separate date after the interview of the parties and may be conducted in person.  When COVID restrictions are lifted and parties come to FOC for the investigation, the MC can be interviewed and scheduled on that same day. 

·         When the courthouse opens to the public for hearings, Referee Hearings will be done by “cattle call” instead of preset time slots

·         FOC will be sending a representative to Judge Borchard’s hearings on Mondays to provide information to Judge and prepare the order following hearing for PRO PER’s ONLY.  If an attorney needs FOC present for a Monday hearing on their case, they must submit a request for FOC to appear to foc@PROTECTED

Questions regarding these changes can be directed to FOC Director, Brittany Dougherty (989)790-5311 or bdougherty@PROTECTED