Schmucker named State Court Administrator
Judge Chad C. Schmucker, a Jackson County Circuit Judge, has been named State Court Administrator by the Michigan Supreme Court, Chief Justice Robert P. Young, Jr. announced today.
Schmucker will succeed Carl L. Gromek, retiring after serving as State Court Administrator since 2004.
Young praised Schmucker as “a highly respected jurist of 20 years’ experience who also shown himself to be a leader and innovator. His work on technology, case management, and many other fronts demonstrates that Judge Schmucker focuses not just on how courts operate, but how they can and should operate at the highest level. The Court is confident that Judge Schmucker is the right person for the...job and a worthy successor to Mr. Gromek.”
As State Court Administrator, Schmucker will oversee administration of the state’s 246 trial courts. His will also supervise SCAO’s four regional offices and all SCAO divisions, including Michigan Judicial Institute (MJI), Judicial Information Systems, Child Welfare Services, Office of Dispute Resolution, and Trial Court Services.
Schmucker received his law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 1977. He practiced with Best, Schmucker, Heyns & Klaeren from 1977 to 1991, when he was appointed to the circuit court by Gov. John Engler. Schmucker, who served as chief judge from 1996-2001 and 2004-2009, implemented the Jackson County Circuit Court’s family division and started Jackson County SMILE (Start Making It Livable for Everyone) for families undergoing divorce. He helped found, and chaired, the Jackson County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. Since 2007, he has served as a judge of Jackson’s “Recovery Court” and helped pioneer his court’s domestic violence, family dependency, and mental health court programs. He led a successful effort to reduce jail overcrowding as part of the Jackson Co. New Jail Project.
A frequent lecturer for the MJI and Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Schmucker has helped train new judges and presented on a wide variety of topics. He chaired the Michigan Judges Association Technology Com-mittee. He has also served on the MI Dept. of Corrections Evidence-Based Sentencing Committee, the MJI Education Advisory Board, and the Criminal Justice Information Systems Advisory Board.
Schmucker was named “Jackson County Foster and Adoptive Parent of the Year” in 1988. He and wife Joyce reside in Jackson and have four children and five grandchildren.
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