WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
Court cases before St. Joseph County District Court Judge Jeff Middleton have returned to a livestream following a misunderstanding with state officials.
The issue dates to March, when Middleton presided over a case that boosted his popularity on YouTube. The case involved a Sturgis defendant at the center of a domestic violence hearing. During the Zoom proceeding, attorney Deborah Davis correctly advised Middleton she suspected the victim and defendant were in the same room despite a restraining order.
Middleton was back in the spotlight earlier this month when a defendant logged into the Zoom hearing under a vulgar screen name. Middleton stalled the proceeding after advising the defendant to revise his screen name.
Not long after that episode, Middleton had a discussion with officials from the State Court Administrator’s office. Based on that, Middleton said he was under the impression he was to shut down his 3B District Court live stream.
State court officials, however, clarified last week they did not mean for Middleton to conclude his live stream. Middleton contemplated the reversal and decided he would continue to livestream court proceedings beginning yesterday.
