APRIL 2006

PHOTO BY ALEX LUMELSKY
taking a stand
Judge Diane Dickow D’ Agostini fights the early release of prisoners
Diane Dickow D’Agostini wasn’t fishing around
for attention. But her stance against a proposed
plan to reduce jail overcrowding has given her
the limelight, whether she likes it or not.
The plan, a joint local administrative order from
Oakland County Chief Circuit Judge Wendy Potts, would
give local judges more control over which prisoners are
released early when the Oakland County Jail is overcrowded.
The Bloomfield Hills-based 48th District Court, of
which D’Agostini is chief justice, is the only district or circuit
court in the county that has refused to participate.
Under the current state statue, when overcrowding occurs
at the jail it is up to the chief circuit judge — currently Potts
— to decide whose sentences should be reduced, and thus
released early. Under the proposed change, Potts would send
a list of prisoners proposed for early release to Oakland
County’s 55 judges, who would have veto power. The proposal
is now before the state Supreme Court, which will
decide if it is enacted.
“Crisis” overcrowding occurred last summer and fall,
which meant that about 200 prisoners were released early
each time, Potts said.
“I got some calls from judges saying, ‘I wish you wouldn’t
have let so-and-so out,’” said Potts. “This gives the
judges more control and poses less of a risk to the public.”
DIFFERENT VIEW
D’Agostini sees it differently. For one thing, she believes
judges do not and should not have a say in jail matters.
Administrative orders are not meant to supersede laws, she
said. “Since when are judges given the authority to give an
order that’s in conflict with a state statute? If I start changing
decisions I made a week or two ago, that is compromising
my duty to the public,” she said. “Once we agree to this,
there will never be a solution to jail overcrowding.”
D’Agostini compares the plan to telling police officers to
stop making arrests or prosecutors to dismiss criminal cases
when the jail is overcrowded. She offers no opinion of what
should be done to alleviate overcrowding, saying that is the
BY JOYCE WISWELL
job of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners. “If I
start worrying about overcrowding, I’m not doing my job,”
she said.
The judge also takes issue with the proposal’s plan for
bonds. Inmates with bonds of less than $500 would be given
personal bonds (no fee) and bonds would be cut in half for
those whose offenses are not violent, a felony or involve
drunk driving.
“I set the bond for a reason, including a criminal record
and flight risk,” D’Agostini said.
D’Agostini was an assistant prosecutor before becoming
a judge in 2001. Her duties included arguing against the
parole of numerous prisoners. “I know the reality — people
do re-offend,” she said.
NOT ALONE
Though hers is the only court refusing to participate in the
plan, D’Agostini is not the only judge who opposes it. (The
48th District’s three judges voted 2-1 to not participate;
D’Agostini said she doesn’t know what she would have done
had the vote gone the other way.) Five of the 11 judges in
the Troy-based 52nd District Court also voted against the
plan, said Chief Justice William Bolle, who has gone along
with the majority’s wishes. Though he declined to say how
he voted, it is clear that Bolle has some issues with the plan.
“She makes some pretty valid points,” he said of D’Agostini.
“This is an attempt to provide a solution to a very bad,
serious problem that will not go away,” Bolle said. “We need
more jail space and the reality is we aren’t going to get it
because of the county’s economic situation.”
D’Agostini said store owners will be greatly affected by
the new plan. “Merchants will be very much impacted
because those persons [such as who commit theft] are considered
low-risk,” she said.
The judge seems a bit surprised over the reaction to the
stand she has taken. “I did not expect that this would
receive this much attention,” D’Agostini said. “But it
should — it’s about public safety and the law. I will stand up
for what I believe in.”
A CHALDEAN-
AMERICAN
JUDGE
Diane Dickow D’ Agostini was
named chief justice of the
48th District Court in
December 2005. She plans
to run for reelection to the
bench in November, and said
she loves her work.
“ It is so rewarding when
people give you their vote, trusting
your judgment,” she said.
She keeps a thick file stuffed
with letters from defendants she
has convicted and sentenced, in
which they thank her for treating
them with respect and dignity.
“ This is a rewarding position
because you can really help
people,” she said. “ You can
address their problems, place
them into an alcohol or drug
program — even order them to
go back to school.”
D’ Agostini spends a lot of
time in the schools of the
cities the court serves —
West Bloomfield, Bloomfield
Hills, Birmingham, Keego
Harbor, Sylvan Lake and
Orchard Lake — speaking to
students on laws and their
penalties. She sometimes
metes out sentences to drug,
drunk-driving or theft offenders
right in the middle and
high schools so students can
see the consequences.
“ I really advocate teaching
kids about the law at an early
age, she said. “ I see a rooted
lack of respect for the law, especially
with underage drinking.”
She also has created Order
in the Court, a program where
fourth-grades classes watch
actual cases, then hold their
own mock trials.
Remembering those victimized
by crime is important to
D’ Agostini, whose father, Salim
Dickow, was murdered at his
store when she was 7 years
old. “ I don’ t think my father’ s
death shaped my judicial philosophy,”
she said, “ but my
personal experience opened a
window for me to look into a
victim’ s life and know what
they are feeling.”
APRIL 2006 CHALDEAN NEWS 31