Snyder to make appointment for completion of term
By Trace Christenson
Battle Creek Enquirer
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — After writing his own history, Calhoun County District Judge John Holmes said recently that he is going to study some.
Holmes has announced he will retire June 7 after 21 years on the bench and 44 years as an attorney.
“I like studying, especially the Middle Ages,” he said from his office in the Calhoun County Justice Center. “Henry VIII fascinates me and everything around that, the whole history of the Middle Ages.”
Holmes told the Battle Creek Enquirer that he is ready to spend more time with his grandchildren, do some volunteer work, and stop hearing about criminal cases, especially from victims.
“I just don’t want to see any more little girls get on the stand and say Uncle Bub put his hands in my pants,” Holmes said. “You just know when it’s time.”
He said he will miss the people he works with in the courthouse and the law.
“I have done some weddings for the people in the courts and I have been around when they had their babies. And I find the law interesting and I like other judges. I find them very interesting.”
Holmes, appointed to the bench in February 1993, will turn 70 on June 6, the day before he retires. He has four years remaining on his six-year term. Judges cannot seek a new term after they turn 70. Circuit Judge James Kingsley, 72, is also retiring at the end of the year, when he will complete his current six-year term.
Holmes has sent letters to the State Court Administrator and to Gov. Rick Snyder.
“I said, ‘Thanks, I had a good time. I had a wonderful career and I am looking forward to seeing who you appoint,” Holmes said.
Snyder will appoint a replacement to complete the term, but no one knows when, said Jill Booth, Region 5 Administrator for the State Court Administrator.
“It is the governor’s timetable,” she said. “He opens it up for applications and then the state bar does interviews and the governor can do some of his own interviews. It could take several months.”
A spokesman for Snyder, Dave Murray said once the governor receives the letter from the judge his office will post the opening and begin accepting applications. The process remains secret until Snyder announces an appointment.
District Judge John Hallacy, a former prosecutor, said Holmes has been an excellent judge.
“He is very intelligent and he is very patient and he is a thoughtful and considerate man. He is a good guy and people trust him. And he has a wealth of knowledge. There will be a lot of tears shed when he leaves.”
Hallacy, who became chief district judge in January after Holmes held the position for two decades, said he is now learning about all the administrative duties Holmes had in addition to deciding cases.
“I am finding out very quickly all the things he does that I didn’t know about,” Hallacy said.
Susan Mladenoff, a defense attorney and former prosecutor, said Holmes is calm and deliberate.
“He is a gentleman on the bench and he is fair.”
And Booth, a former Calhoun County magistrate, said Holmes was always willing to provide advice and knowledge.
“I think he is a wonderful judge,” she said. “When you think about what you want in a judge, look at Judge Holmes.”
Hallacy said district judges deal with smaller issues and shorter cases than other courts, but each is important to the people involved and Judge Holmes never forgot it.
“We see a lot of people who are unrepresented by attorneys, so his characteristics are important,” Hallacy said. “It is challenging to deal with people in cases like small claims and it takes a special person to do it well.”
Holmes said he tries to be patient with people appearing in court.
“I think about people who are in front of me and they are afraid and intimidated,” he said. “There is no sense in me picking on them. I try to make it an easier process for them.”
Holmes said he remembers practicing before judges who intimidated him.
“I didn’t like that when I think about being on the other side of the bench,” he said. “It is an important thing for the people who came in front of me. I was not always the most brilliant judge, but I tried to be nicer.”
