Judge Joyce Draganchuk, Chief Judge of the Ingham County Circuit Court, recently announced her retirement on December 31, after serving Ingham County for 37 years, first as an assistant prosecuting attorney and chief assistant prosecuting attorney and then as a circuit judge for 20 years.
Judge Draganchuk was elected to the circuit bench in 2004. She has presided over domestic, criminal, and civil cases during her time on the bench.
In 2013, she was appointed business court judge by the Michigan Supreme Court and has served in that capacity to the present. She has also served on the Model Criminal Jury Instruction Committee since 2016 and has been the Chair of that committee since 2020. She was appointed chief judge in 2021 and reappointed in 2023.
She has been called upon repeatedly to teach and train defense attorneys, prosecutors, probation agents, and other judges. She has been a frequent panelist for the Michigan Judicial Institute and for the Ingham County Bar Association on topics ranging from criminal sentencing to facilitative mediation in business cases.
Judge Draganchuk was a regular visitor to Okemos High School, where she guest-taught their Street Law class. She has lent her expertise to the Institute of Continuing Legal Education on topics from business litigation to evidence. She most recently authored a chapter for an upcoming book on evidence.
Judge Draganchuk has been honored by the Ingham County Bar Association with the Camille S. Abood Distinguished Volunteer Award and the Mid-Michigan Region of the Women Lawyers Association with the Carolyn Stell Award. She was a member of the MSU Chapter of American Inns of Court mentoring program for years and served as its president from 2019-2021. For 17 years throughout her career, Judge Draganchuk used her lunch hour to deliver Meals-On-Wheels.
Judge Draganchuk was elected to the circuit bench in 2004. She has presided over domestic, criminal, and civil cases during her time on the bench.
In 2013, she was appointed business court judge by the Michigan Supreme Court and has served in that capacity to the present. She has also served on the Model Criminal Jury Instruction Committee since 2016 and has been the Chair of that committee since 2020. She was appointed chief judge in 2021 and reappointed in 2023.
She has been called upon repeatedly to teach and train defense attorneys, prosecutors, probation agents, and other judges. She has been a frequent panelist for the Michigan Judicial Institute and for the Ingham County Bar Association on topics ranging from criminal sentencing to facilitative mediation in business cases.
Judge Draganchuk was a regular visitor to Okemos High School, where she guest-taught their Street Law class. She has lent her expertise to the Institute of Continuing Legal Education on topics from business litigation to evidence. She most recently authored a chapter for an upcoming book on evidence.
Judge Draganchuk has been honored by the Ingham County Bar Association with the Camille S. Abood Distinguished Volunteer Award and the Mid-Michigan Region of the Women Lawyers Association with the Carolyn Stell Award. She was a member of the MSU Chapter of American Inns of Court mentoring program for years and served as its president from 2019-2021. For 17 years throughout her career, Judge Draganchuk used her lunch hour to deliver Meals-On-Wheels.
