Appeals court to hear horse farm case.

Recap of the state of affairs in JCAC vs. Turn 3 Ranch:

Appeals court to hear horse farm case

Jackson Citizen Patriot | 22-July-2008

The Michigan Court of Appeals will decide whether a Jackson County judge was right to declare the county's forfeiture of a Grass Lake Township horse farm was improper.

Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson ruled in May that District Judge Joseph Filip acted improperly in July 2007 when he ordered James Henderson, facing allegation of abuse, to forfeit his horses.

The prosecutor's office appealed the decision and the appeals court agreed Friday to hear arguments, Jackson County Assistant Prosecutor Jerrold Schrotenboer said.

It likely will be December or later before the case goes before the court, Schrotenboer said.

Appellate judges will address the propriety of the forfeiture, a civil issue, at the same time they review Circuit Judge Chad Schmucker's April 30 ruling in a related criminal matter dismissing animal-torture charges against Henderson and Matthew Mercier, the farm manager, Schrotenboer said.

The court agreed last month to review Schmucker's decision, which the prosecutor's office also appealed.

"Both Judge Wilson and Judge Schmucker ruled what the law is and we are confident the court of appeals will uphold the law,'' Mercier said.

Schmucker dropped three charges of felony animal torture, saying there was no evidence Henderson or Mercier intended to harm three horses found injured, too thin or lame in March 2007.

Until the court hears the cases, all county-level action is stopped, Schrotenboer said. Both Henderson and Mercier still face a misdemeanor charge of neglect.

"We'll sit and wait. Jackson County is delaying the inevitable,'' Mercier said. "The wheels of justice don't turn all that fast, especially in Jackson County,'' he said. "Our lives have been completely on hold (since March of 2007).

In his May ruling, Wilson determined Henderson could not be guilty of failing to provide adequate care, which the forfeiture statute requires, because he was not involved with the day-to-day operations of the farm, Schrotenboer said.

Wilson ordered the county to repay Henderson for his lost property and sent the case back to District Court, where Filip was to decide how much Henderson is owed.

That has not been determined as any further hearings are delayed until the appeals court makes its ruling.

Filip had found Henderson did not adequately care for his animals after an eight-day forfeiture hearing held in conjunction with a preliminary examination.

Jackson County Animal Control seized 69 horses on Henderson's farm in March 2007, saying conditions were unsafe and unsanitary. After foaling season, the herd grew to more than 80.

Most of the horses were sold for about $50,000.

Henderson has said his horses were worth $500,000.

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