Before hearing any evidence in the case, a Wayne County judge reportedly assured Grosse Pointe teenager Kiernan Tague that he would not do any prison time for the death of his friend who was killed in a high-speed crash last fall.
Kiernan, who was the driver and is facing second-degree murder charges, was traveling 105 mph on a 25-mph residential street on Nov. 17, 2023, when he lost control, hit a utility pole and then a tree, claiming the life of his passenger: Flynn MacKrell, a stellar swimmer and college freshman who died at the scene that night.
The victim's family has been reeling ever since and is demanding justice on two fronts: The MacKrells have requested criminal charges be filed against Kiernan's mom, maintaining she knew her son routinely was driving at excessive speeds for months, yet never revoked his driving privileges. They also want the judge assigned to Kiernan's case — Wayne County Circuit Judge Christopher Dingell of the family division — to step down, alleging he has unfairly decided the driver's punishment before the case ever went to trial.
Judge recuses himself without saying why
At a hearing Monday morning, Dingell recused himself from the case.
When Tague's lawyer, prominent criminal defense attorney Mitchell Ribitwer, asked for an explanation, the judge said:
"I don’t believe I have to, I’m comfortable without it."
At issue for the MacKrell family were comments that Dingell made during an Aug. 8 pretrial hearing, when he spoke to Kiernan about his potential fate, saying that he has chosen rehabilitation over prison time in "every single case" like his.
Judge leaned toward rehabilitation, not prison time
Though Kiernan was 16 at the time of the fatal crash, he is charged with second-degree murder with an adult designation. That means, if he's convicted, he could be sentenced as an adult or a juvenile, or get a blended sentence. Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
At the pretrial hearing, however, Judge Dingell noted that in every case like Kiernan's that he has handled in the last 21 years, he has delayed adult sentencing and instead proceeded first "with an attempt to rehabilitate" — and that he would do so in Kiernan's case.
"I will conduct a trial, which will be a criminal trial. If you are found guilty, I am allowed under Michigan law — and have in every case that I’ve handled in the last 21 years — handled it in the following fashion: I am allowed to delay the adult sentencing and proceed first with an attempt to rehabilitate you through the delinquency system," Dingell said according to a transcript of the hearing. "So, I would go forward with a delinquency disposition and delay the adult criminal sentencing to a later time. If I can rehabilitate you, I can dismiss the adult sentence."
Dingell also cautioned Kiernan that he could lose his discretion to delay a prison sentence if, for example, Kiernan committed a new felony.
"If you were found guilty, you’re looking at 10 years, 20 years, something like that. Kiernan, do you understand all this?" Dingell asked.
Kiernan replied: "Yes, your honor."
Dingell then urged the prosecution to "try and make an offer" to settle the case with the defense. He also talked about his role in handing down a sentence.
Judge: 'I try to keep juveniles in the home'
"What I do is actually three things in what’s called a disposition. I issue orders designed to do three things: Get you safe, get you on the road to becoming a happy, healthy, productive, member of society, and get you permanence. On the delinquency side, if I don’t immediately succeed, I’m supposed to try again with further dispositions," Dingell said.
He stressed: "I try to keep juveniles in the home. If I can keep them in the home, I do. If I cannot, then off to the crowbar hotel they go. Kiernan, do you understand this?"
"Yes, your honor, I do," Kiernan replied.
Dingell also reminded Kiernan that he had a right to confront his accusers, and to call his own witnesses at trial.
"And if they don’t feel like coming here on their own to provide testimony you feel will be beneficial to your case, then I’ll be tickled pink to compel them to come here and provide that testimony," Dingell said.
After setting a trial date for Feb. 4, the judge urged Kiernan to stay out of trouble.
'For the love of God, don't get in any more trouble'
"Right now, I can read (your lawyer's) mind. What’s going through his mind is, 'For the love of God, don’t get in any more trouble. Go to school, try and get good grades. Do what your mother tells you to do. Don’t do anything she tells you not to do,'" Dingell said, adding: "Mr. Ribitwer, am I reading your mind correctly?"
"One hundred percent, judge. You got it," Ribitwer answered.None of this sat well with the victim's parents, who feared the person responsible for their son's death was going to get off easy.
They said they believe Kiernan deserves prison time for robbing their son of his life, and destroying theirs in the process. And so they pushed for a new judge to hear the case, with the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office ultimately filing a successful motion seeking Dingell's recusal.
"We do not dispute that a judge has discretion in sentencing, but we believe that it is an abuse of that discretion to effectively announce before the trial or plea deal — and before he has heard the relevant facts that he is supposed to consider in exercising his discretion — how that discretion will be applied," Grosse Pointe residents Thad MacKrell and Anne Vanker wrote in a previous email to the Wayne County Chief Judge Patricia Fresard. "Judge Dingell’s statements had the immediate effect of undermining the prosecution by eliminating the prosecutor’s leverage in any plea bargain negotiations with Mr. Tague, and fatally undermined the public trust and confidence in the fair administration of justice."
Defense warns of 'a dangerous precedent'
Kiernan's lawyer, meanwhile, urged the judge to stay on the case.
"I think this sets a dangerous precedent," Ribitwer said at Monday's hearing, maintaining that judges shouldn't recuse themselves just because one side or the other fears they are too harsh or too lenient when it comes to sentencing. For example, he said, if he had a client in front of a judge known for giving harsh sentences, he couldn't bring a motion asking that he be removed from the case.
Ribitwer also argued that Judge Dingell never made a final decision regarding Kiernan's punishment. "My perception of this is that you were just basically attempting to inform Kiernan of his rights."
Moreover, Ribitwer said, in the two decades that he has known Judge Dingell, "there's nothing in the record that indicates you can’t be fair or impartial."
For reasons unknown, however, Dingell stepped aside and the case was reassigned to Judge Michael McClory.
Family has 'hope that justice will be served'
"The recusal of Judge Dingell gives us hope that justice will be served for our family, and all those who have to endure a future without Flynn — and that future lives will be saved," the MacKrell family said in a statement Monday, in which it applauded the prosecutor's office for pushing for Dingell's recusal.
"It is our conviction that Kiernan Tague has a jury trial as an adult — and if found guilty — is incarcerated not only for retribution for killing Flynn, but because he is a danger to society," the statement reads.
According to Grosse Pointe Farms police records, text messages, photos and Life 360 data reviewed by the Free Press, in the months before the fatal accident, Kiernan drove over 100 mph more than 50 times along metro Detroit highways, reaching speeds exceeding 130 mph numerous times. Perhaps most egregious, the MacKrell family says, is that the teen's mother knew about this through the Life 360 app she had on her son's phone, but allegedly never took his keys away.
Kiernan's mom, Elizabeth Puleo-Tague, has denied numerous requests for comment.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has not yet announced whether she will charge the mother.
Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com
