Indefinitely postponed.

Not just the case. People's lives.

Torture case lands in Court of Appeals
Posted by Danielle Quisenberry | Jackson Citizen Patriot
June 13, 2008 09:33AM
Categories: Top Stories

The Michigan Court of Appeals agreed Thursday to review a Jackson County judge's decision to dismiss animal torture charges against the owner and manager of a Grass Lake Township farm.

Until the court hears arguments, which could take months, any action in Jackson County on the case against James Henderson Jr. and Matthew Mercier is delayed indefinitely, said Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Blumer.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Chad Schmucker decided April 30 to drop three charges of felony torture, saying there was no evidence Henderson or Mercier intended to harm three horses found injured, too-thin or lame in March 2007.

The prosecutor's office appealed Schmucker's decision.

"This is a significant first step," Blumer said of the appeal being granted. "No. 1, it stops the case from progressing at the county level and No. 2, it shows they are interested in the issue."

A hearing scheduled for today and a Monday trial on the misdemeanor neglect charges Mercier and Henderson still face have been canceled, pending a decision by the appeals court.

Blumer said it is up to the state court to determine when the case will be heard.

Ronald Fabian, Mercier's lawyer, said it could be next spring before both sides present their arguments, further putting on hold Mercier's life and causing Henderson to lose his job.

Henderson's attorney, Michael Dungan, has said in court that Henderson, a Washtenaw County probation agent, would be fired if still facing a criminal charge by July 1.

Mercier, who has not been able to find other farm work, and Henderson were charged in March 2007 with neglecting a herd of more than 60 horses.

Jackson County Animal Control seized the horses the same month and later sold most of them, saying conditions at the farm were unsanitary and unsafe.

District Judge Joseph Filip in July ordered Henderson to forfeit the horses to the county, but Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson decided last month Filip's decision was improper and the county would have to pay Henderson for his lost property.

The Prosecutor's Office also appealed Wilson's decision, but the appeals court has not decided what it will do on that civil matter. It could decide to hear both issues together, Blumer said.

Since the farm seizure, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office has taken over Animal Control and its former director, Kimberlee Luce, left her position last week.

Fabian, who with Dungan was to present a motion to suppress evidence obtained using a search warrant in March 2007, has said the recent rulings show the case is "basically garbage" and the appeals process will further prolong proceedings.

"It will cost the taxpayers of Jackson County an untold amount of money," he said Thursday.

The county spent more than $133,000 to maintain the farm and sold the horses for about $50,000.

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

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