Office Information

Jeff is the longest-serving Prosecuting Attorney in the history of Eaton County. He has served as the Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney since January 1, 1991, having been appointed to complete the final two years left of his predecessor's term. Jeff was unopposed in the 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 & 2008 general elections. His current term expires on December 31, 2012.

In February 2003, Jeff received his 20-year service award from the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan.

Jeff previously served Eaton County as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (1979-1985) and as Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (1985-1988). Between 1988 and his appointment as Prosecutor, Jeff handled general civil litigation in the private practice of law.

• Bar Admission
• Michigan; United States District Court (Western District, Michigan); United States Court of Appeals (Sixth Circuit)
•  Honors
• 2007 - Visionary Award from Michigan Dept. of Information Technology
• 2006 - Tri-County Waste Reduction Award
• 2006 - PAAM Distinguished Faculty Award
• 2005 - Professional Excellence Award from Eaton County Sheriff
• 2003 - Outstanding Advocate Award from Rep. Bill VanRegenmorter and the Crime Victim's Rights Foundation
• 1999 - Meritorious Service Award from Eaton County Sheriff
• 1999 - Law Enforcement Commendation Medal from the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
• 1999 - Senate Declaration of Honor from Sen. Bill VanRegenmorter and Governor John Engler
• 1998 - Lifesaver Award from Ingham County MADD
• 1995 - Special Legislative Tribute from Rep. Frank Fitzgerald, Sen. Joe Schwarz and Governor John Engler

Some of his other professional service includes:

• Child Support Leadership Council - Joint Appointment of Governor and Chief Justice; 2004 to present
• Drug Court Advisory Committee - Legislative Appointment; 2005 to present
• Board of Directors, Michigan Association of Drug Court Professionals; 2006 to present
• Automated fingerprint Information Systems (AFIS) Policy Council; 1992-1998
• Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) Policy Council; 1998-2008
• Governor Engler's Task Force charged with setting standards for the treatment of domestic violence batterers
• Michigan Supreme Court's Task Force on Trial Court Performance Standars and the Judicial Information Systems' Advisory Commission
• Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM):
• President, 2000-2001
• Officer, 1997-2002
• Board of Directors (1992-present)
• Member of various committees related to legislation, child support, child protection, technology & corrections
• Frequent lecturer and seminar faculty on trial advocacy, drug courts, paperless file management, etc.
• National District Attorneys Association (NDAA):
• faculty at National Advocacy Center, Columbia, South Carolina
• Pretrial Advocacy, 1999
• Pretrial Advocacy, 2000
• Trial Advocacy II, 2001
• Trial Advocacy I, 2002
• Faculty Development, 2006
• Cross Examination, 2002, 2004, 2006
• NDAA Technology Conference, 2007
• faculty for National College of District Attorneys
• Prosecuting Drug Cases, 2005, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Office Administration, 2006, Chicago, Illinois
• Executive Program, 2006, Park City, Utah
• NDAA Summer Conference, 2007, Portland, Oregon
• Office Administration, 2007, San Francisco, California
• Executive Program, 2008, Marco Island, Florida
• Strategic Cross-Examination, 2008, Houston, Texas
• Other Presentations
• Michigan Judicial Institute, "FAQ's on Restitution", 2003, Lansing, Michigan
• Michigan House Criminal Justice Committee, 2003, Joint presentation on Sentencing Guidelines with Frank Reynolds
• Partners for Progress, "Drug Courts", 2004, Anchorage, Alaska
• Utah Prosecutors Council, "Cross Examination", 2005, Park City, Utah
• Pima County Attorneys Office, "Paperless File Management", 2006, Tucson, Arizona
• North Carolina Conference of D.A.'s, "Cross Examination" & "Paperless File Mgt", 2006, Wilmington, North Carolina
• Michigan Capital Area Chapter, Project Management Institute, "Paperless File Mgt", 2007, Lansing, Michigan
• State Bar of Michigan, Prisons and Corrections Comm., "Balancing Our Priorities", 2007, Lansing, Michigan
• Laserfiche Conference, "Paperless File Management", 2008, Los Angeles, California
• Utah Prosecutorial Assistants Assn., "Paperless File Management", 2008, Moab, Utah
• West Virginia District Attorneys Assn., "Cross Examination", 2008, West Virginia
• Texas District & County Attorneys Assn., "Cross Examination" & "Paperless File Management", 2009, Austin, Texas
• Iowa County Attorneys Assn., "Cross Examination" & "Paperless File Management", 2009, Arnolds Park, Iowa
• Lansing Community College: adjunct professor, Criminal Procedure, 1993-1997
• Eaton County Bar Association: officer

In March 2006, Jeff and APA Neil O'Brien co-authored one side of a Point/Counter-Point article in the Michigan Bar Journal, entitled "The Case for Preliminary Examination Reform".

Current Assignment: Economic Crimes Unit

In February 2006, Doug received his 10-year Prosecution Service Award from PAAM. Doug has been an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Eaton County since 2000. During his first 3½ years in our office, he prosecuted controlled substance cases and forfeitures. In the Fall of 2003, he took over the Economic Crimes Unit from APA Nathan Williams.

Doug previously served as a Jackson County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (1996-2000), where he was the Chief Trial Attorney in the Drug and Arson Unit. Before that, he worked in private practice, specializing in criminal defense and real estate (1992-1995). Doug is a member of the National Fire Investigators Association. Doug's interests include his family, golf and love of all water sports.

Since January 2004, Doug has served on the State Bar of Michigan Character & Fitness Committee (District E).

Current Assignment: Research & Appeals

Bill has been an Assistant Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney since 1988, and has been a Sr. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney since 1989. Bill previously worked in Lapeer, MI in the private practice of law (1986-1987), and as a Circuit Court law clerk (1982-1985). He has served as an officer in the Eaton County Bar Association and Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Appellate Forum, and has been the 56th Circuit's representative to the State Bar Representative Assembly.

In 2001 & 2002, Bill served as faculty at Appellate Advocacy seminars at the NDAA's National Advocacy Center, in Columbia, SC.

In February 2008, Bill received his 20-Year service award from the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan.

Current Assignment: Circuit Court

In February 2006, Neil received his 15-year Prosecution Service Award from PAAM. Neil has been an Assistant Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney since 1993. From 1997-2008 he primarily handled the Family Court (parental abuse/neglect and juvenile delinquency) and Probate Court dockets. He previously served as an Ingham County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (1984-1986), and worked in private practice, specializing in municipal law and personal injury litigation (1986-1992).

Neil created, designed and maintains all of the web pages for the Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney's office (1997-present). He also created and maintained the Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council web site from 1999-2002.

Some of Neil's other professional service includes:

• State Bar of Michigan:
• Character & Fitness Committee / District E (appointed from 2001-2006)
• Criminal Law Section Council (elected from 2004-2007)
• PAAM (Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan):
• Technical Services Committee (and related sub-committees), appointed member (1999-present)
• Lecturer on crime victim restitution
  • PAAM (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010)
  • Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia ("Crime Victim Rights Restitution, and Holding Parents Responsibile in Juvenile Delinquency Cases": 2005)
• Lecturer on creating/maintaining/improving prosecutor web sites that help the public and prosecutors, paperless file management, internet legal research, e-mail & office collaboration, shared learning and brief banks, etc.
  • NCDA (National College of District Attorneys) / NDAA (National District Attorneys Association): 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
  • NDAA's National Advocacy Center, in Columbia, SC: lead faculty presenter at a four-day Website Development for New Prosecutors seminar (2001); and The Public Image of the Office: Creating the Effective Web Site (2007).
  • NAJIS (1997)
  • PAAM (1997)
• Lecturer on Surviving the Defense Cross-Examination (University of Michigan Medical School Child Abuse Conference: 2007)
• Adjunct Professor: Mock Trial and Research/Writing (Thomas M. Cooley Law School; 1985-1990)

He created and still maintains a YahooGroups.com newsgroup for victim rights advocates in Michigan's prosecuting attorney offices and similar service providers.

In March 2006, Neil and Eaton County PA Jeff Sauter co-authored one side of a Point/Counter-Point article in the Michigan Bar Journal, entitled "The Case for Preliminary Examination Reform".

In his spare time, he enjoys golf, motorcycling, bowling, running, college sports (Go Irish!), barbershop harmony, and all-too infrequent mills with the Pine River Bar Association.

Current Assignment: Circuit Court

Kelly has been an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Eaton County since 2003. She previously served as an Alpena County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (2002-2003), where she handled district and circuit court cases. Kelly has worked as a law clerk in the 26th Judicial Circuit Court (Alpena County), and as an adjunct professor at Alpena Community College (2000-2003), teaching Business Law, Political Science, Criminal Justice, Interview and Interrogation, Legal Research & Writing, and Real Property Law. She also served as an officer in the Alpena County Bar Association.

Kelly is also licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois.

Current Assignment: Drug Enforcement / Forfeitures 

Brent has been an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Eaton County since January 2006. He previously worked in the private practice of law in Charlotte (2004-2006), and worked as a Clerk with the Michigan Senate (1995-2004) while earning a law degree in the evenings.

Current Assignment:  District Court

Sharon has been an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Eaton County since August 2008. She had previously worked in our Economic Crimes Unit office while in law school as a volunteer, as an intern, then as a full-time assistant investigator.

Current Assignment: Domestic Violence / PPOs

Kristin has been an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Eaton County since October 2008.

Current Assignment: Family Court

Steve has been an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Eaton County since April 2010.