Eric Gutenberg is a candidate for the position of 15th District Court Judge in the City of Ann Arbor. He is the only candidate who has spent virtually his entire legal career directly handling and supervising litigation in all of the Courts in Washtenaw County. Eric is the only candidate who has never before sought elected office or judicial appointment. Eric is seeking to replace a retiring Judge because he believes that he is the one candidate who stands out because of his fairness, integrity and proven experience.
As a supervising attorney in the prosecutor's office, Eric spends each day making the types of decisions that a Judge is called upon to make - - Is a witness believable? Is a search or confession legal or illegal? Is there enough evidence in a case to sustain the burden of proof? These are just a few of the many decisions that Eric has been entrusted to make by Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Brian L. Mackie.
In Eric's eighteen years of professional and dedicated service to this community, he has successfully managed thousands of cases, involving the crimes of murder, burglary, home invasion, robbery, rape, weapons offenses, domestic violence, drunk driving, and civil matters including traffic infractions, child protective proceedings, and probate hearings, among many others. As an experienced supervisor in the Prosecutor's Office, he leads the ten assistant prosecutors who serve in the District Court preliminary examination unit, the Circuit Court felony trial unit, and the sex crimes unit. Eric also supervises the six assistant prosecutors in the Domestic Violence and general District Court divisions, as needed. Eric has personally taken to trial hundreds of cases in District Court, Circuit Court, Probate Court, and Juvenile Court. He has also successfully argued cases before the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Additionally, Eric has served in several collaborative city and county-wide programs and initiatives, such as the court's Community Corrections pretrial release program, the Criminal Justice Collaborative Council, the child death review team, and the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners program (SANE), among others.
Judgeships in Michigan are non-partisan positions. This is because people deserve to have their legal rights determined fairly, by a person with proven experience and without any appearance that any outside influence has affected the decision. Eric has received his appointments from a Republican and Democrat Prosecutor. Eric believes strongly that the position of Judge should be held by a person who, like him, has spent his career making the types of serious day to day decisions that a judge will face.
Eric's proven experience and commitment to serving justice make him the best choice to serve as your next 15th District Court Judge.