Hello, fellow RAM’ers!  I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the lovely summer weather!
 
We have concluded our annual conference, which was held in Midland from May 21-23, 2025. Thank you to all members that were able to join us. It is your active participation and the camaraderie that is shared over the three-day event that makes the annual conference so special. This year’s conference was phenomenal. Thank you to Sahera Housey and Kate Weaver for all of their hard work and dedication in planning the conference.  We had speakers and presentations that provided legally relevant information to all of our members, including juvenile and domestic relations issues. We also had a presentation specific to our own self-care, recognizing the stressful work that we all do, and discussing ways to combat the pressures and stressors that we face. Although the weather was less than ideal on the first day of the conference, this did not prevent people from getting outside and enjoying the quaint downtown area of Midland. And a big thank you to Ilyssa Cimmino for planning a fun and unique social activity for Thursday evening. Members made their way to three different establishments to collect playing cards, ending up at a final destination to turn in their cards and see who collected the best poker hand.  The event culminated in a social hour at the local distillery, with snacks and fellowship.

It is hard to watch a television program or read a newspaper without being confronted with talk of AI. Whether it’s Jeopardy contestants battling Watson or Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson lamenting a misplaced dining reservation due to a lack of AI resources – AI is everywhere.
 
What is Artificial Intelligence
 
AI may be difficult to conceptualize and even more difficult to define. Generally speaking, AI is “technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem solving, decision making, creativity, and autonomy.” There are different types of AI programs that presently exist. The form of AI most commonly used by individuals is a Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT). These models allow computers to break down large quantities of information in a relatively short period of time. They also allow these systems to perform functions based upon user inputs.

Ethics Committee, Referee Ilyssa Cimmino (Oakland) – We are submitting a letter to the Board of Commissioners in which we declined to support the Proposed Amendments of Canon 3 of the Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct and Rule 6.5 of the Michigan Rules of Professional conduct.  The committee’s main concern is that while we support professionalism and civility, the proposed amendments created a list of protected categories, and the committee felt the list was unnecessary and eliminates respect and courtesy “for all parties.”   We sent over a language revision that we believed encompassed the intent of the amendments while protecting everyone. 

Further, we are also working on an opinion that states communication between a referee and the judicial officer to whom the referee provides recommended orders is not ex parte communication.  The opinion points out that it is ok to seek the judge’s input or clarification during the drafting process, because it promotes efficiency and accuracy by ensuring that the recommendation reflects the judge’s legal reasoning.  Additionally, because referees are subject to the Judicial Canons, all information received must be handled in accordance with ethical standards.  As long as both parties have access to the same information, it is ok to share any information provided to the judge.  Lastly, the committee believes that referees can also communicate with a judge about any unstated rationale in their recommendations but cautioned referees about making recommendations based upon reasons not stated in a recommended order. 

Finally, we also drafted an opinion on whether a judicial officer may be a member of a fraternal or advocacy organization including the Fraternal Order of Police.  The opinion states that judges are not categorically prohibited from joining, but the judicial officer needs to weigh all factors and ensure that the affiliation does not cast doubt on a judge’s impartiality. 

​Custody
 
Assemany v. Assemany, unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued January 15, 2025 (Docket No. 371694, 371832), Lapeer County.
 
The parties’ judgment awarded Father sole legal and physical custody of the minor children. Mother resided in Florida, while Father lived in Michigan. Mother was granted unsupervised parenting time, which could take place in either Michigan or Florida. The parties and children also participated in reunification therapy.
 
In 2022, following a motion filed by Father, the trial court entered an order maintaining Father’s sole legal and physical custody of the children. The order also suspended reunification therapy between Mother and two (2) of the minor children. However, Mother was to continue reunification therapy with the parties’ third child and was assigned a graduated parenting time schedule contingent upon her sobriety.
 
Approximately six (6) months later, an order was entered suspending Mother’s parenting time entirely. She was also prohibited from communicating with the parties’ youngest child. Nearly a year after this order, Mother filed a motion to reinstate parenting time and requested joint legal custody. She alleged that Father and the child’s therapist had alienated the child from her. To support her claims against the therapist, Mother retained her own therapist, who issued a report raising concerns about the child’s therapist.

CHILD PROTECTIVE PROCEEDINGS
 
UNPUBLISHED
 
In re MCCLELLAND/THOMAS, Minors, (March 19, 2025), No. 371123, Sanilac Circuit Court Family Division, LC No. 23-036620-NA
 
Respondent-mother appeals as of right the trial court’s April 2024 order terminating her parental rights to the two minor children, CM and JT, pursuant to MCL 712A.19b(3)(b)(i), (b)(ii), and (j). Respondent also challenges the trial court’s earlier order, entered in February 2024, assuming jurisdiction over the minor children. The Court affirmed the trial court’s order of adjudication and the order determining that at least one statutory ground supported termination. The Court vacated the trial court’s best-interest analysis and remanded for further consideration of that issue because the court failed to consider the children’s best interests in light of their relative placement.
​
In this case, Children’s Protective Services began an investigation of this family in February 2023 after CM disclosed to adults at her school that she was sexually abused by respondent’s live-in boyfriend, J. Thomas, the biological father of JT. Petitioner, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), sought termination of respondent’s parental rights at the initial disposition primarily alleging a failure to protect her children from Thomas’s physical and sexual abuse.

Kudos to Dan Ferency (Oakland) for his move from Wayne County to Oakland County.  Dan worked as a Referee in Wayne County and was assigned to a judicial docket.  He is assigned to the AID (Assistance in Resolving Debt) Docket in Oakland County where he tackles child support enforcement issues on a daily basis. 

Kudos to Linda Harrison (Macomb) for being named Deputy Court Administrator of the 16th Circuit Court in March 2025.  Linda had been the Chief Juvenile Referee at the 16th  Circuit Court since 2012 after beginning her referee service in 2004.  At the time of her appointment, Linda was serving as the RAM representative on the SCAO Commission on Well-Being in the Law. 

Kudos to Kimberly Gildner (Alpena/Montmorency) who was recently elected to the Presque Isle County Probate Court in the November 2024 general election.  Even more impressive, Judge Gildner was appointed Chief Judge of that Court by the Michigan Supreme Court effective January 1, 2025. 

Kudos to Michelle Letourneau (Oakland) for becoming President of the Michigan Inter-Professional Association on Marriage, Divorce, and the Family (MIPA).  MIPA is a non-profit organization consisting mostly of judges, lawyers, and mental health professionals who meet on a regular basis to combine their special skills, knowledge, and insights with a goal towards strengthening family life.
 
Kudos to Lynn Ruhlman (Wayne) for her retirement from the Wayne County Friend of the Court.  Lynn started her position at the Friend of the Court in the late 1980s as a Friend of the Court attorney.  She became a Domestic Relations Referee on June 1, 1998, and retired on May 31, 2025, after serving Wayne County as a referee for 27 years.

Kudos to Melissa Sytsma (Kalamazoo) for her move from Cass County, where she had been a Referee since 2013, to Kalamazoo County.  Melissa will continue to have a positive impact on the families she serves in her role as a 9th Circuit Court Family Division Referee.