Prosecutor’s Office

William A. Forsyth, Kent County Prosecutor

82 Ionia Avenue NW, Suite 450
Grand Rapids, MI 49503-2266
Phone: (616) 632-6710
Fax: (616) 632-6714

Hours: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday - Friday

Overview

The Prosecuting Attorney appears for the State or County in all criminal prosecutions in Circuit Court and District Court, as well as appearances in delinquency, neglect, mental incompetency, and adult guardianship proceedings in both Probate Court and the Family Division of the Circuit Court. The Prosecuting Attorney shares jurisdiction with the Michigan Attorney General for any crime that is committed in Kent County, but is independent of that State office. The Prosecuting Attorney is an elected official with a four-year term, chosen at the time of the Presidential election, on the partisan ballot.

The office is divided into the following divisions: Criminal, Appellate, Family Law and Juvenile. Each division has specific attorneys assigned to it and is structured to serve that division’s unique needs. Additionally, the Victim/Witness Unit of the office performs services for victims of crime as mandated under the Crime Victims Rights Act.

The Prosecuting Attorney’s office is responsible for other legal functions, including:

• Administering procedural and substantive matters relative to appeals that the Prosecutor’s Office has appeared in as counsel;
• Keeping victims notified of case status, their right to participate, and to protect/preserve their rights;
• Representing custodial parents in support and paternity proceedings;
• Providing information on juvenile offenders to the Kent Intermediate School District; and
• Representing the County in forfeiture actions.

A Bad Check Restitution Program was implemented in an effort to assist local merchants with losses stemming from bad checks and to help ease the burden of check enforcement or local law enforcement agencies. In lieu of police agencies devoting precious resources to investigate non-sufficient fund and/ or closed account check complaints, merchants are referred to the check program. The primary goal of the program is to obtain full restitution for the victim without adding to the financial burden of the criminal justice system and operates at no cost to the county or taxpayers. First time bad check offenders are given the opportunity to avoid criminal prosecution by attending a mandatory intervention class, in addition to paying restitution. The benefits of the program are multi-faceted: (1) merchants receive restitution; (2) law enforcement is relieved of the responsibility of having to investigate thousands of bad check complaints; (3) offenders avoid criminal prosecution and are offered a course in money management in an effort to provide them the skills to avoid future difficulties; and (4) an already busy court system is freed from the burden of additional cases and the costs attendant to such cases. In 2007, over $208,000 in restitution were paid to victims.

Selected Goals

• Prosecute violations of State law in District and Circuit Courts within Kent County
• Administer all procedural and substantive matters relative to appeals that the Prosecutor’s Office has appeared in as counsel; from writing briefs to oral arguments
• Protect and preserve the rights of victims
• Provide legal advice to law enforcement/social service agencies involved in the Kent County judicial system
• Provide legal representation to establish paternity and set levels of child support
• Represent the people at hearings involving delinquency, neglect/dependency, and mental incompetency.

2008 Adopted Uses: $7,776,869

2008 Adopted Revenues: $1,234,372

Selected Performance Measures

Performance Measure	2005	2006	2007	2008 Projected
Number of felony warrants authorized	4,525	4,635	4,538	4,566
Number of misdemeanor warrants authorized	5,238	5,358	4,898	5,165
Number of cases scheduled for trial in District Court	846	811	789	815
Number of felony pleas in District Court	539	491	449	492
Number of guilty pleas in Circuit Court	3,088	3,242	3,439	3,256
Number of cases tried in Circuit Court	113	110	122	115
Number of cases referred to victim/witness program	9,907	9,359	9,221	9,226
Amount of restitution awarded to victims through the Crime Victims Compensation Board	$293,388	$327,561	$400,497	$340,465
Number of paternity and child support cases opened	3,405	3,900	4,160	3,822
Number of judgements (Paternity & Support)	2,241	2,320	2,930	2,497

Department History of Uses

Uses	2005 Actual	2006 Actual	2007 Adopted	2008 Requested	2008 Adopted	Adopted % Change
Personnel	$5,977,868	$6,174,788	$6,889,718	$7,161,871	$7,097,972	3.02%
Commodities	134,529	144,244	159,500	156,500	156,500	-1.88%
Contractual Services	430,517	337,478	461,721	409,073	399,073	-13.57%
Capital Outlay	3,088	9,702	-	16,000	2,000	NA
Other Charges	149,416	172,664	190,275	121,324	121,324	-36.24%
Total	$6,695,418	$6,838,876	$7,701,214	$7,864,768	$7,776,869	0.98%
Personnel FTE	84	82	84	84	83

Significant Budget Issues

A Caseworker Assistant position was eliminated from our Victim/Witness Unit as of January 1, 2008 because of budgetary restraints. That position’s responsibilities have been divided up between other staff in Victim/Witness and our Juvenile Divisions. Staff are doing their best to continue to provide the level of service on neglect cases that was previously available, despite the loss of this position.

History of Uses (in millions)

---