Grand Haven,
Michigan
Hon. Paul F. Kraus became Ottawa County's fifth Circuit Court Judge on January 1, 2023. Judge Kraus serves in the Family Division of the Circuit Court and his docket includes adoptions, child neglect/abuse cases, juvenile delinquency, divorce, and other domestic matters. Prior to becoming judge, he worked for the Ottawa County Prosecutor's Office, serving as a senior assistant prosecuting attorney and the family unit division director. In that capacity, he advocated for protecting children in neglect and abuse cases and handled a caseload of felony child abuse. Judge Kraus provided legal representation to the Ottawa County Department of Health and Human Services and served on the Ottawa County Child Death Review Team. Before this, Judge Kraus was an attorney in a medium-sized law firm in Holland, Michigan, where he had a family law and criminal defense practice and also served as the Deputy Holland City Attorney. He started his legal career as an Assistant Attorney General for the Iowa Department of Justice where, over the course of nearly 10 years, he served as lead counsel on over 900 cases related to sexual abuse, child abuse and neglect, and dependent adult abuse. During his tenure with the Attorney General’s Office, Judge Kraus represented the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and became a recognized leader on issues related to child welfare. Judge Kraus is an active philanthropist and is past-president of the Ottawa County Bar Association, past-president of the Corpus Christi Foundation, and a regular youth softball and baseball coach, and he is currently appointed by the State Bar of Michigan to a task force devoted to the promotion of professionalism and civility in the practice of law.
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