By Jenna Sundel and Jason Lemon
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Michigan District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons handed allies of President Donald Trump a major legal win on Tuesday, saying in court that 15 Republicans accused of attempting to falsely certify Trump as the winner of the 2020 election in the battleground state will not face trial.
Simmons, who was appointed by Michigan's Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2019, said: "I believe they were executing their constitutional right to seek redress." The judge said the Republicans "seriously believed" there were issues with the 2020 presidential election.
Why It Matters
Prosecutors in Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona have also filed charges against alleged fake electors. None of these cases has reached trial yet, and many have faced delays.
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What To Know
Each of the 15 individuals faced eight charges of forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. The top charges had a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
Investigators stated that the group signed a document falsely claiming they were the state's "duly elected and qualified electors" at the Michigan GOP headquarters in December 2020.
The 15 people charged had pleaded not guilty and maintained that their actions were not illegal. The group included former Michigan Republican Party Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock.
A 16th individual accused in this case had the charges against him dropped in 2023 after agreeing to cooperate with the state attorney general's office.
Joe Biden won Michigan by nearly 155,000 votes in the 2020 presidential election, a margin confirmed by a Republican-led state Senate investigation in 2021.
The president of the United States is officially elected by the 538-member Electoral College. In Michigan and 47 other states, electors vote for the candidate who won the popular vote. In Nebraska and Maine, elector votes are based on congressional district and statewide results.
Who Is Judge Kristen Simmons?
Simmons is a judge serving in Michigan's 54-A District Court in Lansing. She has also served as a litigation manager for the Michigan Department of Corrections and as an assistant attorney general in the civil litigation, elections, and employment law division.
Simmons was an assistant city attorney in Lansing, a district court prosecutor, and a legal adviser to the Lansing Police Department and the Lansing Police Board of Commissioners.
She has also served Ingham County as a public defender and worked as an adjunct professor for Lansing Community College.
What People Are Saying
Nicholas Somberg, attorney for former Michigan Republican Party Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock, told reporters: "There needs to be major consequences for the people who brought this."
Michigan District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons, at a court hearing: "This is not an election interference case."
What Happens Next
While the Michigan case has been dismissed, prosecutions against alleged fake electors in other states are ongoing.
Last month in Wisconsin, a judge declined to dismiss charges against three individuals allegedly connected to a plan to falsely cast electoral ballots for Trump. The Nevada state attorney general's office revived a case against a group of alleged fake electors last year, while a judge in Arizona ordered a similar case back to a grand jury in May.
The Georgia prosecution is on hold while Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought charges against Trump and others, appeals her removal from the case.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
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Update 9/9/25, 12:20 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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