In 1997, the Witness Unit was created in order to coordinate witnesses and manage cases in the District Courts of Kalamazoo County. The Witness Coordinators manage and expedite the processing of witnesses of statute criminal cases in District Courts throughout the County, as well as advocating for witnesses during the subpoena process.

GOALS:

• To reduce the amount of overtime dollars needed to bring law enforcement officers to court.
• To decrease, or eliminate, the number of adjourned and dismissed cases due to lack of necessary witnesses.
• To reduce the inconvenience to District Court witnesses and establish witness cooperation while efficiently utilizing court time, law enforcement court time, law enforcement resources, and prosecutor's preparation time.

MAJOR ACTIVITIES: The responsibilities of the District Court Witness Coordinators include:

• Work with county prosecutors, as well as city, township and village attorneys on case management to insure witness coordination.
• Creation and operation of a telephone alert system for contacting both police and lay witnesses.
• Follow-up on subpoena service, both mail and personal service.
• Work with court and prosecutor on any witness problems.
• Notify both lay and police witnesses of adjournments and pleas.
• Provide "check-in" service for witnesses on trial days.
• Make necessary travel arrangements for out-of-area witnesses.
• Maintain statistics and records to demonstrate cost savings for all involved units of government.

The Witness Coordination Unit is made up of the following employees:
Lauren Brady
Gay Colby
Diane Klauer

CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information, please contact the Witness Unit
at (269) 383-8991 or by fax at (269) 383-8803.