District Court case on hold until prosecutor decided

Prosecuting Atty Ambrozaitis

     HARRISON – A stalking case against a 42-year-old Clare man is on hold until who is prosecuting the case is determined by the 55th Circuit Court.
     The 55th Circuit Court has ruled that it would hear arguments on whether the Clare County Prosecutor’s Office should handle the prosecution of a stalking case against Patrick Scott Boggs. The case was slated for a show cause hearing on Thursday, Dec. 3, but a Stay of Proceedings was signed on that date, according to 80th District Court officials.
     This means the court will not hear any further issues until the appeal on whether the Clare County Prosecutor’s Office can handle the case is decided.
     Acting 80th District Court Judge Roy G. Mienk disqualified the prosecutor’s office and moved that a special prosecutor be appointed in a motion entered on Sept. 18.
     Joshua Farrell had disqualified himself from the matter due to his previous experiences when he had his private law practice. Mienk, of the 55th Circuit Court in Gladwin, was appointed as judge.
     Clare County Prosecutor Michelle Ambrozaitis filed a motion in mid-October to appeal the decision to disqualify the office. Ghazey Aleck, attorney for Aleck & Jenkins, LLC., filed the motion to excuse the Prosecutor’s Office on behalf of Patrick Scott Boggs.     Boggs was charged with stalking and reckless driving in June.
     Chief Judge Thomas Evans of the 55th Circuit Court granted Leave to Appeal the decision of District Court that the Clare County Prosecutor’s Office was disqualified from the case, Ambrozaitis has said.
     “Basically, what this means is that we can now file additional briefs and have argument on the issue of disqualification in Circuit Court,” she has said.
     Aleck had filed the motion to show cause and/or dismiss after the Prosecutor’s Office filed their notice of the intent to appeal the 80th District Court decision on disqualification. The Thursday hearing on this motion was what caused the Stay of Proceedings to be signed.
     Aleck argued in the motion to disqualify the prosecutor that Christopher Joseph Russo Sr. campaigned for Ambrozaitis in the campaign for her election. Boggs is charged with stalking against Russo’s son.
     Ambrozaitis’s motion argues Boggs and Russo Sr. had a falling out several years ago and that Chrisopher John Russo, the minor victim, suffered as a result.
     Stalking is punishable by one year in jail and/or $1,000 in fines and up to five years on probation. Reckless driving is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail and/or $500 in fines.
     Aleck’s motion for disqualification of the Prosecutor’s Office included comments that Russo Sr. had made to the Clare County Board of Commissioners and support of Ambrozaitis in her campaign.
     The court granted Aleck’s motion to disqualify the Prosecutor’s Office with the order being entered on Sept. 18. The prosecutor’s office then appealed.
     Grounds for appeal include that the 80th District Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear Bogg’s motion for the prosecutor’s disqualification and in the alternative lacked the factual support sufficient to make such a finding.
      “First and foremost the district court was without jurisdiction to consider whether the prosecutor’s office had a conflict which caused the appearance of impropriety let alone disqualification of the prosecutor’s office and appointment of a special prosecutor,” the motion stated.
     “Second, even if the district court had jurisdiction to address prosecutorial conflict, this case lacks a factual basis to support a finding of prosecutorial conflict which rises to the level of the appearance of impropriety,” the appeal stated.
     There was no evidence presented that the victim Russo Jr., a minor not old enough to vote, had any relationship with Ambrozaitis. The appeal argued Russo Sr. was a campaign supporter but the defense failed to introduce evidence to support the contention that there was a personal relationship between the parties that was significant enough to require disqualification.