Court of General Jurisdiction (Tribal Court)

The judicial power of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians is vested in a tribal court system composed of a court of general jurisdiction, called the Tribal Court, and an appellate court, called the Tribal Appellate Court.  All the Judges of the Tribal Court and Tribal Appellate Court combined make up the Judiciary.  The chief judge and associate judge preside over all civil and criminal cases in Tribal Court arising under the tribal constitution, statutes, regulations, or judicial decisions of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.  Tribal Court’s jurisdiction is based upon the Tribe’s inherent sovereignty, traditional custom, and federal law.  Below are brief biographies of the current Chief and Associate Judges.

Chief Judge, Allie Greenleaf Maldonado

Allie Greenleaf Maldonado is a Citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business with honors from the City University of New York Bachelorette Program.  She graduated in the top third of her class from the University of Michigan (UM) Law School. While at UM, she earned a place as a Contributing Editor for the University of Michigan Law Review. She was a Kellog Foundation Fellow, Voelker Foundation Fellow, A.T. Anderson Memorial Scholar, and Joseph Seiger Scholar. Upon graduation she won the University of Michigan Jane L. Mixer Award for public service.
After graduation, Ms. Maldonado was selected through the highly competitive Honors Program at the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to become a litigator in the Indian Resources Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. Upon her swearing in at DOJ, she was informed that she was only the 15th enrolled tribal citizen to ever enter the DOJ through its prestigious Honors Program since its inception in the 1950's.

In September of 2002, Ms. Maldonado returned home and accepted the position of Assistant General Counsel for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians where she served the Tribe up until her appointment as Chief Judge. Ms. Maldonado is recognized as an expert on the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). She has worked closely with the State Court Administrative Office to bring Michigan into compliance with ICWA for the first time since the Act’s passage. Her writings about ICWA have been published nationally and she has been called upon numerous times to speak about and provided training on ICWA.

Ms. Maldonado is honored to serve LTBB as Chief Judge.

Associate Judge, Jenny Lee Kronk

Judge Jenny Kronk is an enrolled citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.  Since February 18, 2006, Jenny has served as the first Associate Tribal Judge under LTBB's new constitution.  She graduated cum laude from the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law in 1988 and has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan for twenty years.  She taught business law at Michigan State University for ten years and served as a staff attorney for the Michigan Public Service Commission.  She has nine years of judicial experience, serving as an administrative law judge with the state of Michigan and Tribal Judge for the Hannahville Indian Community prior to joining the LTBB Court.  She has served on the Michigan Indian Legal Services Board of Directors as Treasurer and the American Indian Law Section Council of the State Bar of Michigan; in addition, she has taught legal writing to judges at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada.  Jenny has a daughter, Elizabeth who teaches federal Indian Law at the University of  Montana School of Law.  

Tribal Appellate Court

The Tribal Appellate Court consists of a chief justice and two associate justices that hear appeals from Tribal Court.  All Tribal Appellate Court decisions are final and cannot be appealed.  Below are brief biographies of the Appellate Justices.

Chief Justice James Genia

Justice Jim Genia is a member of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians and currently serving as Chief Appellate Justice.  Jim is the owner of ANIMIKI LLC, a business which provides lobbying and legal services to Tribes in the State of Minnesota.  He formerly was head of the Indian law practice group at the Minneapolis, Minnesota, law firm of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP.  In 1999, Genia was one of nine attorneys named an Attorney of the Year by the Minnesota Lawyer publication.  Prior to joining the law firm, Justice Genia served as the Solicitor General for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe from 1993 to 1999 and Deputy Solicitor from 1992 to 1993.  While at Mille Lacs, Genia helped successfully litigate a lawsuit against the State of Minnesota which was ultimately decided by the United States Supreme Court and upheld several Tribes' hunting, fishing and gathering rights under an 1837 treaty with the United States. 

In addition, Justice Genia served as a law clerk to State District Court Judge Jack Litman in Duluth, Minnesota, prior to joining the Mille Lacs Band in 1992.  Genia serves on the board of directors of the Johnson Institute Foundation of Washington, D.C. and St. Paul, Minnesota, and is a former chair of the board of directors of Woodlands National Bank and a former board member of the Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce.  He has also served as an adjunct professor of Indian law and treaty rights at St. Cloud State University and NAES College in Minneapolis.

Justice Genia earned his law degree in 1990 from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul.  For its centennial in 2000, Jim was named one of the law school’s top 100 all-time graduates.  After graduating from Como Park High School in 1982, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Augsburg College in Minneapolis in 1987.  Genia was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota.  His parents were both raised in Charlevoix.

Justice Wenona Singel

Justice Wenona T. Singel is a former member of the tribe’s Economic Development Commission.  Justice Singel is an enrolled citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.  Singel is also an Assistant Professor at the Michigan State University College of Law as well as the Associate Director of its Indigenous Law and Policy Center. She is Of Counsel to the law firm of Kanji & Katzen, PLLC, a firm with offices in Ann Arbor and Seattle that specializes in representing tribes in Indian law matters.  Justice Singel graduated from Harvard University in 1995 with high honors and Harvard Law School in 1999. She has worked at Dickinson Wright PLLC, Kanji & Katzen PLLC and was an Assistant Professor at University of North Dakota School of Law. She is admitted to practice in Michigan and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Justice George Anthony

Justice Anthony has recently been confirmed as the Elder Appellate Justice beginning in March of 2008.  Justice Anthony is filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Gasco-Shepard.  Justice Anthony was born in Manistique, Michigan on November 2, 1943.  He attended Alpena Community College, Fish Propagation and was a commercial Fisherman since 1958.  He joined the army in 1962-1965 and was a paratrooper and finance clerk who was responsible for Officer payroll.  Justice Anthony was appointed by the tribal council and was vice-chairman from 2000-2003.  Justice Anthony has contributed to previous constitution development and also previously held a position on the Natural Resource Commission and was one of the Chief negotiators involved in the fishery agreement. 

Court Staff

LTBB’s Constitution requires that the Judiciary shall employ an Administrator of the Courts and other assistants as may be necessary to aid in the administration of the courts.  Below are brief introductions to the Court Administrator and court staff.

Court Administrator, Bernadece (Compo) Kiogima

Bernadece is a citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.  She was raised by her mother, Frances Compo and Ronald Yob, from Grand Rapids and her late grandparents, Frank Compo and Viola (Shomin) Compo.  Bernadece was born and raised in the Grand Rapids Anishnabek community.  In high school Bernadece attended and graduated from the Native American Alternative Learning Center. After high school, Bernadece went on to attend Grand Valley State University where she graduated and earned two Master degrees.  Bernadece earned both a Master of Science degree with both a Criminal Justice and Social Work focus and also a Master of Public Administration degree with a Criminal Justice focus.  Bernadece has been employed with the Tribal Court for nearly ten years.  For the first few years of her employment with the tribe she worked as the Probation Officer until she was employed as the Court Administrator.  Her previous work experience includes working for the 61st District Court in Grand Rapids and later working for three years as a Youth Specialist for the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center.  As the Court Administrator, she is responsible for duties assigned by the Judiciary as well as handling the administrative duties of the Court and supervising the court staff. 

Adult Probation Officer/Odawa Adult Healing to Wellness Coordinator, Joseph Lucier

Aanii! I am humbled to serve my community as the Adult Drug Court Coordinator/Probation Officer. I have lived in this area all my life. My Grandmother, Rita Gasco-Shepard, grew up in Indian Town (Harbor Springs) and raised my mother, Vicki Lynn, in Oden, MI. I was also raised in Oden and now reside in Alanson, MI, just down the road from my old stomping grounds, Alanson Littlefield High School. I moved away briefly to continue my education at Bay Mills Community College and Lake Superior State University where I received my Bachelors degree. Since 2007 I have been working for the LTBB in various capacities including, Compensation Analyst, Youth Services Coordinator, and now as a Tribal Court Team Member. I’ve been a part of the LTBB Court since 2008 when I was included on the Odawa Youth Healing to Wellness Team. I hold a passion for a life of Recovery and Spirituality. I recognize my weaknesses and my need for God, Family and Community in order to fulfill my purpose in life. My mission is simply, to make the Creator smile as much as I possibly can and I hope to do just that as I continue to work for the LTBB Government. It has been a pleasure participating within our community and I look forward to what lies ahead for our people. Miigwetch, Joe Lucier

Cultural Resource Advisor William (Bill) Denemy Sr.

Bill is a member of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, he was born and raised in Charlevoix, graduated from Charlevoix High School. After graduation, he successfully found employment with the Michigan State Police. After his career, he returned to the local area and took a position with the LTBB Gaming Administration, which was later renamed the Gaming Board of Directors. He resigned from the Gaming Board when he was elected LTBB Vice Chairperson. He then served as LTBB Vice Chairperson from 2005-2009. In April, 2010, he started his employment with LTBB Tribal Court. At the present time he is a member of the LTBB Elders Association, and serves on the Elders Board of Directors. Bill is very excited with his new position as Cultural Resource Advisor, he envisions great things happening in the area of healing and wellness for all clients involved in the native substance abuse program.

Juvenile Probation Officer/Community Justice Coordinator, - Vacant

 

Court Clerk I, Cynthia Brouckaert

Cynthia Brouckaert is a member of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. She grew up in Cross Village, and graduated from Harbor Springs High School. She and her husband have recently moved up from the Detroit area where they’ve lived for the past 25 years. They have a daughter and son in-law, and a son attending SVSU. Cynthia is certified through the J. Dalton Institute to perform the duties of Tribal Court Clerk, and has Associate Degrees from NCMC in Petoskey, and Macomb Community College in Warren, MI. She is happy to have returned to the area, and is looking forward to becoming more involved in the tribal community.

Court Clerk II - Vacant