Press Release

Oakland County District Judges Launch Most Wanted Project

Pontiac, MI, July 7, 2008 Oakland County District Court Judges Julie Nicholson (52-3) and Brian MacKenzie (52-1) today kicked off their joint "Most Wanted" project which is designed to track down criminal defendants who have eluded justice.

"The idea for the program came up in discussions between Judge Nicholson and myself," said Judge MacKenzie.  "We both thought there should be some sort of joint effort between the judiciary and law enforcement to get the most dangerous people off the street."

Judge MacKenzie says his court is targeting about 220 people who have failed to appear after receiving a court order forcing bench warrants to be issued for their arrests.  Many of those being sought by police are repeat offenders who have been charged with such crimes as drunk driving, driving with a suspended license and domestic abuse.  Their pictures and information about them appear on the 52-1 District Court website.

Judge Nicholson has photos and information on 30 of her courts Most Wanted on the 52-3 website. The public can view pictures of the courts Most Wanted by going to www.oakgov.com and clicking on either 52-1 or 52-3 District Court, visiting www.YouTube.com or going to the websites of the following police departments: 

Auburn Hills  248-370-9444
Novi   248-348-7100
Milford   248-684-1815
Wixom   248-624-6114
Wolverine  248-624-1335
South Lyon, LyonTwp 248-437-1773
Commerce Twp 248-960-7061
Highland Twp  248-887-3791
Walled Lake  248-624-3111

All of the people police are looking for committed crimes in the aforementioned communities.

"This program utilizes the latest in technology so the public can assist law enforcement in arresting those individuals who pose a threat to public safety," Judge Nicholson said.  "It also allows the court to dispose of matters and bring peace to victims for those cases that remain open."

Both judges encourage citizens to check out the websites listed above and report any of the suspects they may have seen to their local police agency.  Although police sweeps for the criminals being sought only runs from July 7-9, the websites will remain in operation.

According to the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, there are some 500,000 people in Michigan with a drunk driving conviction on their driving records.  Of these, its estimated 38% will receive a subsequent drunk driving conviction and of those with two convictions, nearly 43% will receive a third conviction.

For media inquiries only, please contact Bob Dustman, Media and Communications Officer, at (248) 858-1048.