News File Photo Judge Aaron Gauthier appears in this November 2019 News archive photo.

ROGERS CITY — An Up North judge will represent northern Michigan as part of a newly developed body tasked with coordinating the efforts of the state’s 200-plus courts.

Judge Aaron Gauthier, of Presque Isle County’s 53rd Circuit Court, was tapped to serve on the Michigan Judicial Council, the state’s high court announced late last month.

The 29 members of the council — chosen from nearly 200 applicants — will analyze trends, review data, and develop plans to steer the state’s judicial branch in coming years, especially in its response to current legislative discussions regarding mental health, incarceration, juvenile justice, racial equity, and other justice-related issues.

Gauthier will serve an initial two-year term — with possibility of appointment to a second, three-year term — alongside judges, attorneys, court administrators, county clerks, and members of the public from around the state.

He applied for the appointment, Gauthier said, because the council matches his priorities of finding new ways to increase court efficiency and improving communication between courts and the public.

Inclusion of a voice representing Michigan’s rural, Up North counties ensures the judicial council represents Michigan in all its diversity, according to former State Court Administrator Milt Mack, who led the state effort to create the judicial council.

To fill council seats, the Supreme Court chose people with vision and open-mindedness who value change in pursuit of improvement, Mack said.

“Some say, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,'” Mack said. “The truth is, you don’t have to be broke to improve. We can always make things better.”

The Michigan Constitution describes Michigan’s judiciary as One Court of Justice — a descriptor that “has been more aspirational than real,” Mack said.

Many people, Mack said, feel Michigan’s current system is too slow, too expensive and too hard to understand. Most court operations are funded locally, case management systems vary from court to court, and access to technology is inconsistent across the state’s 242 trial courts, according to Mack.

The judicial council aims to bring uniformity to the state’s judicial system and ensure the equitable delivery of justice. Members will create recommendations by listening to the public and seeking ways to promote collaboration and a clear sense of direction among local courts, Mack said.

Gauthier will represent Northeast Michigan as the council gets to work at its first meeting on July 22.

“I’m intending to show up with my ears and mind wide open,” Gauthier said, “and see how best I can help.”