‘I’m excited to start’: Paul LaBine sworn in as new Houghton County prosecuting attorney

HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) - Paul LaBine has been sworn in as Houghton County’s new prosecuting attorney.

He was sworn in Monday morning in his office at the Houghton County Courthouse. He is taking over for Brittany Bulleit, who is now the judge for the 12th Circuit Court.

A Hancock City Council member since 2016 and mayor since 2019, LaBine held his final council meeting on Wednesday before his resignation. His partial term will run until January 2025, with LaBine intending to run for another term at that time.

He says his first order of business is to determine the office’s top priorities.

“I’m excited to start,” said LaBine. “I have a lot to learn, and I look forward to working with some of the best people in the community.”

LaBine also notes that he has a number of goals while in office.

“My primary task right now is to aggressively recruit some attorneys for the office,” continued LaBine. “There’s two empty legal positions here. One is the chief assistant prosecutor, and one is an assistant prosecutor. There should be three attorneys in this office, and I am the only attorney, so that will be my primary task.”

Along with those goals, LaBine’s mentality for the position is one of cooperation.

“To be able to work with the police, the victims, and all kinds of defense attorneys and individuals in this office to the best of my ability,” added LaBine.

LaBine says that in the long term, he wants to make a strong and effective county prosecuting office.

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