Chief Judge James M. Biernat Jr. has transferred his Adult Drug Court docket to Judge Joseph Toia, effective immediately.
Biernat has presided over the court for six years but needed to shift the workload because of the additional responsibilities that came with his appointment as chief judge of circuit court as well as Macomb County Probate Court and 42nd District Court.
Toia had been serving as alternate judge for the Drug Court dockets as well as the alternate judge for Judge Mark Switalski in the Veterans’ Treatment Court.
“I have truly enjoyed my time with the drug court” said Biernat. “I have had the opportunity to see many individuals work hard and transform their lives by attaining sobriety, finding gainful employment and even being unified with their families and children.”
Biernat said he looked forward to working with the court on a smaller scale as an alternate judge with the program.
“I am confident the docket will be in great hands with Judge Toia and will continue to have many successes,” he said.
Toia was appointed to the circuit court bench by Gov. Rick Snyder in August 2015 and was re-elected last November.
He graduated from Wayne State University with a bachelor of science in business administration/ finance degree and received his law degree from Detroit College of Law (now known as Michigan State College of Law).
Prior to his appointment, Toia was in private practice for three decades.
Additionally, he served as the prosecuting attorney for Orion Township in Oakland County.
“I have had an interest in problem-solving court programs since their inception,” he said.
Since becoming a judge, Toia said he has “participated in training conferences and workshops on legal and constitutional issues affecting drug courts and to learn about advances in specialty court programs.
He said adult drug courts and veterans’ treatment courts “are programs that truly make a difference not only for the individual participants, but also for our community as a whole.”
“I look forward to continuing the good work Judge Biernat has done with the Adult Drug Court,” Toia said, “and will strive to continue
implementing best practices to improve outcomes for our court, the community and the participants.”
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