Margaret M. Van Houten
Nonpartisan · MI · Judge, Criminal Division, Wayne County Third Judicial Circuit Court
Margaret M. Van Houten is a judge in the Criminal Division of Michigan's Third Judicial Circuit Court in Wayne County. Governor Rick Snyder appointed her to the court in 2012. Before joining the bench, Van Houten practiced law for more than a decade, worked at Evans & Luptak, and clerked for Brian Zahra while he served on the Third Circuit Court and Michigan Court of Appeals. She also served four terms on the Dearborn Heights City Council. Van Houten earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Michigan and a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
Track record
Public Safety and Crime Control
· 1 record
Margaret M. Van Houten sentenced former Michigan State Police trooper Mark Bessner to five to 15 years for involuntary manslaughter in Damon Grimes' death; the Court of Appeals later affirmed the conviction and sentence.
May 13, 2019For
Source: courts.michigan.gov · researched July 13, 2026
Civil Rights
· 4 records
Margaret M. Van Houten sentenced Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl to one year of probation after their no-contest pleas to voter-intimidation, conspiracy, and computer-crime charges arising from robocalls targeting predominantly Black Detroit voters.
December 1, 2025For
Source: michigan.gov · researched July 13, 2026
Margaret M. Van Houten testified for the Third Circuit Court in support of Michigan House Bill 4861 and its removal of a party-declaration requirement from affidavits filed by nonpartisan candidates.
October 21, 2025For
Source: michiganadvance.com · researched July 13, 2026
Margaret M. Van Houten denied Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl's motions to quash voter-intimidation charges arising from robocalls targeting Black Detroit voters; Michigan appellate courts ultimately upheld the charges.
February 23, 2021For
Source: courts.michigan.gov · researched July 13, 2026
As a Dearborn Heights council member, Margaret M. Van Houten helped draft and then voted for a human-rights ordinance that included sexual-orientation and gender-identity protections, while placing her objection to the added gender-identity language on the record.
October 11, 2005For
Source: pridesource.com · researched July 13, 2026
General
· 2 records
As a Dearborn Heights council member, Margaret M. Van Houten proposed a resolution restricting city employees' take-home vehicles, with exceptions for the mayor and police and fire chiefs.
June 5, 2011
Source: government-fleet.com · researched July 13, 2026
Margaret M. Van Houten ended her service on the bipartisan Michigan Civil Rights Commission when she resigned and a successor was appointed.
August 14, 2009
Source: michigan.gov · researched July 13, 2026
Integrity and Ethics
· 2 records
Margaret M. Van Houten participated in Wayne County's first Sentinel Event Review, which examined Eric Anderson's wrongful conviction and produced 25 consensus recommendations for criminal-justice system improvements.
November 17, 2025
Source: waynecountymi.gov · researched July 13, 2026
In People v. Tennille and People v. Rutledge, the Court of Appeals found that Margaret M. Van Houten's original Batson analysis omitted required fact-finding and defense rebuttal; after the ordered hearing, the court affirmed her finding that the prosecutor had not intentionally discriminated.
December 29, 2016
Source: courts.michigan.gov · researched July 13, 2026
Legal Competence
· 5 records
The Michigan Supreme Court reappointed Margaret M. Van Houten to the Committee on Model Criminal Jury Instructions for a term running from 2026 through 2028.
December 3, 2025For
Source: courts.michigan.gov · researched July 13, 2026
The Michigan Supreme Court vacated Margaret M. Van Houten's denial of a defense motion to exclude ballistics and toolmark testimony in People v. Searcy, finding that she abused her discretion by not performing the required expert-evidence gatekeeping analysis.
November 19, 2025Against
Source: courts.michigan.gov · researched July 13, 2026
The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed Margaret M. Van Houten's dismissal on double-jeopardy grounds of felony-murder and home-invasion charges against Michael Jackson-Bolanos after a partial verdict and deadlocked counts in the Samantha Woll case.
October 17, 2025For
Source: michbar.org · researched July 13, 2026
Margaret M. Van Houten accepted Raymond Gray's no-contest plea to second-degree murder and imposed a time-served sentence after 48.2 years in prison, allowing his release without treating the result as an exoneration.
May 25, 2021For
Source: utility.waynecountymi.gov · researched July 13, 2026
Governor Rick Snyder appointed Margaret M. Van Houten to the Wayne County Third Judicial Circuit Court after her service in private practice and on the Dearborn Heights City Council.
March 26, 2012For
Source: michigan.gov · researched July 13, 2026
Elections
- 3rd Circuit Judge of Circuit Court - Incumbent - 6 Year Terms · November 3, 2026 · Wayne County, Michigan · incumbent
Profile last researched July 13, 2026.