District Court judges disqualify themselves from Dunnings case

LANSING - All four judges in 54A District Court have disqualified themselves from hearing the case against Ingham County Prosecuting attorney Stuart Dunnings III, the court administrator said.

Judges in 55th District Court, where Dunnings also faces prostitution-related charges, disqualified themselves on Monday before Dunnings was arraigned. A Jackson County judge will handle the case in that court.

Dunnings, 63, faces 15 criminal charges, including one felony charge of prostitution-pandering, after a yearlong investigation by the Ingham County Sheriff's Office, the FBI and the Attorney General's Office. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the felony.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the charges by an Ingham County detective, Dunnings paid for sex hundreds of times between 2010 and 2015, and used his position to coerce a woman who came to him for help with a child custody case to have sex with him for money. He's charged in four district courts in three counties.

Anethia Brewer, 54A District Court administrator, said Friday that the court has sent a request to the State Court Administrative Office for a judge from another county to be assigned to the case.

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter@MattMencarini.