Crime

Macomb Judge with Past Drunk Driving Conviction Arraigned in 2017 Hit-Run Crash

August 28, 2018, 8:46 AM


Judge Catherine B. Steenland has been a district judge for 15 years.

Catherine Steenland, a judge in 39th District Court in Roseville, was in a different court as a defendant this week.

She was arraigned Monday on two misdemeanor charges in a St. Clair County court for a hit-and-run car crash in Roseville, reports Jameson Cook of The Macomb Daily:

Steenland drove away in a red Dodge Charger, the same make, model and car color that police say was involved in the Sept. 25, 2017, crash on Gratiot Avenue near Masonic Boulevard in Roseville. A Roseville man told police a woman driving a red sedan, later determined to be Steenland’s Charger, hit his Chrysler 300 and drove away, police said.

MSP investigators identified Steenland as the suspect in the case and went to her home a short time later, but no one responded, police said. Police impounded her car.

Steenland, 51, has served since 2003. In 2008, Steenland was arrested for drunken driving in Ogemaw County with a .23 blood-alcohol level, WDIV reported aftrer thge crash last fall. She was suspended 90 days from the bench without pay.

In the latest case, she's accused of failure to stop at an injury accident and failure to report the sideswipe crash, which occurred around 8:23 p.m.

"A lady in a red Charger wasn't paying attention and looked drunk sideswiped my car," Roseville driver James Nielson, 30, wrote in a crash report for police, according to records obtained by the Detroit Free Press through the Freedom of Information Act.

Steenland seemed nervous while waiting in court before her brief appearance Monday and is free on a personal bond. 


Read more:  The Macomb Daily


Leave a Comment:

Photo Of The Day