Macomb County Clerk Karen Spranger was given an ultimatum by the chief circuit judge to resolve a backlog of court documents.
According to a letter just obtained by the 7 Investigators, Macomb County Clerk Karen Spranger has been given an ultimatum by Chief Macomb County Circuit Court Judge James Biernat, Jr. to comply with the court's requirements of timely processing of court documents, or "we will take appropriate measures to ensure the Court's work is completed timely."
The letter does not say how. The deadline for the clerk is today.
Spranger has been the center of controversy since she was elected this year including allegedly lying about her residency when she ran for office and feuding with employees in the clerk's office.
On Tuesday, a county commission committee rejected her request for $100,000 for an outside attorney to represent Spranger.
The two-page letter from the chief judge says Spranger's office has a backlog of 3,242 unprocessed e-filing bundles of court documents, 1,632 unprocessed LEIN criminal history reports dating back to August 2, and paper court filings that have been unprocessed dating back to August. The letter dated Tuesday gives the clerk until today to resolve the backlogs.
The letter says her department is short-staffed and that Spranger continues to "decline or delay filling these positions to the detriment of the Court's operations." The letter says "The Court requires that you work with and follow the policies set forth by Human Resources and Labor Relations to fill your vacant positions forthwith."
Read the full letter below:
Letter to Clerk Karen Spranger 11.6.17 by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
