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CASSOPOLIS — A law clerk was held in contempt of court and sentenced to jail Friday in Cass County Circuit Court.

Rosemary Kuerbitz, a law clerk for the Cass County Prosecutor’s Office, was sentenced to 30 days in jail. Kuerbitz was arrested for contempt of court following the sentencing of Benjamin Jacob Lewis, 42, of Marcellus, who was found guilty of third offense domestic violence and was sentenced to three years probation, 210 days in jail with credit for 107 days served and $2,628 in fines and costs. The incident occurred Nov. 28, 2023 in Marcellus when he assaulted a woman, pushing her down, dragging her by the hair, choking her and hitting her with a stick.

Cass County Circuit Court Judge Mark Herman noted that this was Lewis’ third domestic violence charge involving the same woman. 

“It looks to be a volatile relationship that has spanned five years,” he said. “You may want to rethink this relationship. You say she’s the instigator, I look at it and see it as a toxic relationship on both sides.”

“Maybe this time being convicted and going to jail is a wake up call,” he added. “I don’t know what the issue is with this woman, but it’s not worth going to prison for … The choice is yours, the reality is the next time you may be looking at a prison situation.”

The sentence didn’t sit well with Kuerbitz, who screamed at Judge Herman that the sentences he gives are “abysmal” and “absolutely insane.”