In a keepsake photo from the 1990s, Judge Jack Gillis stands next to a portrait of his uncle Joseph Gillis, a distinguished member of the former Recorder’s Court bench.
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
An avowed student of history, Judge John “Jack” Gillis Jr. has made more than his own share of the subject over the course of a 46-year career on the Wayne County bench."
When he retires in January, the Detroit native will hold the distinction of being the longest serving circuit court judge in Michigan history, a legal feat that began in 1980 as a judge on the Recorder’s Court which merged with the Third Judicial Circuit Court in October 1997.
When he took office more than four decades ago, Gillis was the third generation of his family to become a Wayne County judge, as his grandfather, father, and uncle all served on the court. For good measure, Gillis’s son, John C. Gillis, was elected to the bench in November 2022, thereby becoming the fourth generation of family members in the annals of the county judiciary.
“It was a proud moment for our family when John joined the bench a few years ago,” Judge Gillis said with a broad smile. “With four generations of judges, we’ve had some history here.”
Early in his career on the bench, Gillis presided over his first products liability case, Harrigan v. Ford Motor Co., a high-stakes matter that became part of local legal history for all the right and wrong reasons.
The case arose out of a single vehicle accident involving an 18-wheel tractor-trailer being driven by Michael Harrigan on July 25, 1980. The semi-truck left the roadway as Harrigan went around a curve near Pikeville, Ky., causing it to roll over as it slid down an embankment. The plaintiff suffered a series of spinal cord injuries in the crash, rendering him a quadriplegic. He sued Ford, claiming that the truck’s air brake system was defective.
During the trial before Judge Gillis, Ford attorneys presented evidence that Harrigan told the ambulance driver who transported him from the accident scene that he had fallen asleep at the wheel of the rig.
The jury on February 21, 1985 found that Ford manufactured the truck with a defect in the braking system, awarding him $12 million even though “his negligence was a contributing proximate cause of the accident.”
Ford then filed a “no cause of action” motion, arguing that under Kentucky law, the plaintiff’s contributory negligence barred recovery, according to Gillis.
“I eventually ruled that while Kentucky substantive law controlled in the case, in products liability cases, the doctrine of comparative negligence applied,” Gillis indicated in explaining his decision to deny Ford’s motion. “The judgment also was reduced significantly (to $2.987 million) to reflect the plaintiff’s negligence.”
On appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals, the case took on an altogether different light due to Judge S. Jerome Bronson, a former Oakland County prosecutor who was elected to the appellate bench in 1968.
“Judge Bronson was arraigned for soliciting a $20,000 bribe in the Harrigan case as well as another $20,000 bribe in an unrelated case,” Gillis recalled. “After being arraigned and released on bond, Judge Bronson drove home, reportedly told his wife about what he was facing in terms of charges, and then went into their backyard and killed himself. The incident made news around the nation.”
It also caused the appeal to be held in limbo, as a new three-judge panel was impaneled to hear the case.
“Eventually, the new panel affirmed my ruling by a 2-1 vote,” said Gillis. “It was case that I will long remember.”
Now, as he gets set to embark on the next chapter in his legal career – as a mediator, Gillis also recalls his early days as full-fledged Wayne County Circuit Court judge when he was inundated with No-Fault Auto Act cases.
“The vast majority of No-Fault cases are heard in Wayne County, and I literally had hundreds of them when the two courts merged in the late ‘90s,” said Gillis. “The caseload was unbelievable – and still is.”
As such, Gillis has taken pride in his work to make sure that members of the state bench are compensated fairly for their judicial efforts.
“I have served on the board of the Michigan Judges Association for 26 years, and for years chaired its Salary/Pensions Committee, trying to make sure that members of the bench and other legal officers are treated equitably,” Gillis remarked. “Most people would be surprised to know that the attorney general of Michigan makes less than $115,000 a year, while the pay for state Supreme Court justices lags behind that of district court, circuit court, and Court of Appeals judges.”
Wayne Circuit Judge David Allen, who has served on the bench since 2003, said such work by Gillis has made him a “beloved institution” on the court.
“Every judge in this state owes Jack a debt of gratitude for his decades-long, tireless efforts to improve compensation and benefits for Michigan Judges,” Allen declared. “Jack has almost single-handedly convinced the Legislature of the importance of keeping judicial compensation competitive so that we can attract and retain the best and the brightest on the bench.
“For decades, Jack has also been the go-to colleague on our court for sound advice on investments and the management of our financial affairs,” Allen added. “He has always been generous with his time, knowledge, and counsel.”
A 1974 alumnus of Michigan State University, Gillis earned his law degree from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1977 before spending three years in private practice. His mentors included his father, John H. Gillis Sr., who served on the Wayne County Circuit Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals, and his uncle, Joseph Gillis, a member of the Recorder’s Court bench and a former pilot in the U.S. Air Force. From them, he must have learned plenty, according to Allen.
“On the bench, Jack is a steady hand with lawyers and litigants alike,” Allen noted. “Win, lose, or draw, he keeps cases moving with a minimum of drama and a healthy dose of common sense. Off the bench, Jack is our pied piper of fun. He never misses an opportunity to attend a bar association event, and he is always bringing colleagues together for holiday gatherings, dinners, lunches, or outings on his beloved sailboat. Jack has a remarkable ability to bring people together and to make sure everyone has a good time.”
When he was elected to the Recorder’s Court, Gillis was just 28 years old, the youngest judge in the court’s history in a role that was seemingly predestined.
“I remember being in a study group in law school and the talk going around the table about what we all wanted to do after obtaining our degrees,” Gillis related. “When I told everyone that I wanted to be a Wayne County Circuit judge they just giggled. They must have thought I was kidding.”
Of course, it has been no laughing matter when his colleagues consider the positive impact Gillis has made on the court since first donning a judicial robe.
“His 46 years on the bench is quite an accomplishment,” said his son, Judge John C. Gillis.
“As a current judge, I am often thinking about docket volume and statistics. By my estimation, my dad has played a role in resolving over 40,000 cases. And the work is not easy, particularly when his service has involved the areas of criminal, family, and civil law. As judges, we understand the importance of helping to resolve the most difficult problems our fellow Wayne County citizens face.
“It has been unique having a dad who has been on the bench my entire life,” Judge Gillis noted. “For 39 years, I have been hearing stories about his cases and meeting attorneys everywhere my dad and I go together. It’s rare to leave a restaurant without running into someone he knows. Even in an international airport in Toronto, he managed to bump into an attorney he is friends with. And the message each attorney relays is always similar, something along the lines of ‘I have known your dad for a long time and he has always been good to me. He is a fair judge and someone that I enjoy appearing before, something I wish I could say about more judges.’ That has stuck with me and I strive for attorneys to have a similar experience in my courtroom. My dad also impressed upon me the importance of keeping an even demeanor and never forming an ego, a trait too many new judges fall victim to.
“Off the bench, my dad has had an active role in shaping the next generation of attorneys,” Gillis indicated. “He has had dozens of summer law clerks, many of whom I have met and some of whom I am able to call friends. One has gone on to be the Chief Judge of the 50th District Court in Pontiac, the Honorable Jeremy D. Bowie. And once my dad officially retires from the bench, he will share office space with another former law clerk, John Cahalan.”
When Gillis begins the next chapter of his legal life as a mediator, he will do so in a 12-foot by 12-foot office in St. Clair Shores, some 15 miles north of the sweeping view of the Detroit River that he now enjoys from his chambers in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. In his current legal abode that sits across from the entrance to the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, Gillis is surrounded by a slew of treasured photos of his family, of his sailboat, and of assorted dignitaries he has come to know along the way. The mementos, he said, are “pleasant reminders” of where he has been and what he has accomplished.
“I consider myself very fortunate to have been in a job that I have enjoyed and found fulfilling,” Gillis said. “I’ve also been blessed with a wonderful wife (Carol) and family who have brought great joy into my life. As I get ready to leave the bench, I know that I won’t be a sit around the house type of guy. That is for sure.”
A fact reinforced by his son.
“He will stay busy traveling with his family and spending time outside sailing, golfing, and skiing,” predicted John Gillis. “His continued love for Spartan football endures, as he has now held season tickets for well over 50 years. And while he will not be in the courtroom, he will stay active in the law community through a mediation practice and attending legal functions. I know he will miss the privilege of serving Wayne County but it is time for a transition into the next phase of life.”
Legal News
An avowed student of history, Judge John “Jack” Gillis Jr. has made more than his own share of the subject over the course of a 46-year career on the Wayne County bench."
When he retires in January, the Detroit native will hold the distinction of being the longest serving circuit court judge in Michigan history, a legal feat that began in 1980 as a judge on the Recorder’s Court which merged with the Third Judicial Circuit Court in October 1997.
When he took office more than four decades ago, Gillis was the third generation of his family to become a Wayne County judge, as his grandfather, father, and uncle all served on the court. For good measure, Gillis’s son, John C. Gillis, was elected to the bench in November 2022, thereby becoming the fourth generation of family members in the annals of the county judiciary.
“It was a proud moment for our family when John joined the bench a few years ago,” Judge Gillis said with a broad smile. “With four generations of judges, we’ve had some history here.”
Early in his career on the bench, Gillis presided over his first products liability case, Harrigan v. Ford Motor Co., a high-stakes matter that became part of local legal history for all the right and wrong reasons.
The case arose out of a single vehicle accident involving an 18-wheel tractor-trailer being driven by Michael Harrigan on July 25, 1980. The semi-truck left the roadway as Harrigan went around a curve near Pikeville, Ky., causing it to roll over as it slid down an embankment. The plaintiff suffered a series of spinal cord injuries in the crash, rendering him a quadriplegic. He sued Ford, claiming that the truck’s air brake system was defective.
During the trial before Judge Gillis, Ford attorneys presented evidence that Harrigan told the ambulance driver who transported him from the accident scene that he had fallen asleep at the wheel of the rig.
The jury on February 21, 1985 found that Ford manufactured the truck with a defect in the braking system, awarding him $12 million even though “his negligence was a contributing proximate cause of the accident.”
Ford then filed a “no cause of action” motion, arguing that under Kentucky law, the plaintiff’s contributory negligence barred recovery, according to Gillis.
“I eventually ruled that while Kentucky substantive law controlled in the case, in products liability cases, the doctrine of comparative negligence applied,” Gillis indicated in explaining his decision to deny Ford’s motion. “The judgment also was reduced significantly (to $2.987 million) to reflect the plaintiff’s negligence.”
On appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals, the case took on an altogether different light due to Judge S. Jerome Bronson, a former Oakland County prosecutor who was elected to the appellate bench in 1968.
“Judge Bronson was arraigned for soliciting a $20,000 bribe in the Harrigan case as well as another $20,000 bribe in an unrelated case,” Gillis recalled. “After being arraigned and released on bond, Judge Bronson drove home, reportedly told his wife about what he was facing in terms of charges, and then went into their backyard and killed himself. The incident made news around the nation.”
It also caused the appeal to be held in limbo, as a new three-judge panel was impaneled to hear the case.
“Eventually, the new panel affirmed my ruling by a 2-1 vote,” said Gillis. “It was case that I will long remember.”
Now, as he gets set to embark on the next chapter in his legal career – as a mediator, Gillis also recalls his early days as full-fledged Wayne County Circuit Court judge when he was inundated with No-Fault Auto Act cases.
“The vast majority of No-Fault cases are heard in Wayne County, and I literally had hundreds of them when the two courts merged in the late ‘90s,” said Gillis. “The caseload was unbelievable – and still is.”
As such, Gillis has taken pride in his work to make sure that members of the state bench are compensated fairly for their judicial efforts.
“I have served on the board of the Michigan Judges Association for 26 years, and for years chaired its Salary/Pensions Committee, trying to make sure that members of the bench and other legal officers are treated equitably,” Gillis remarked. “Most people would be surprised to know that the attorney general of Michigan makes less than $115,000 a year, while the pay for state Supreme Court justices lags behind that of district court, circuit court, and Court of Appeals judges.”
Wayne Circuit Judge David Allen, who has served on the bench since 2003, said such work by Gillis has made him a “beloved institution” on the court.
“Every judge in this state owes Jack a debt of gratitude for his decades-long, tireless efforts to improve compensation and benefits for Michigan Judges,” Allen declared. “Jack has almost single-handedly convinced the Legislature of the importance of keeping judicial compensation competitive so that we can attract and retain the best and the brightest on the bench.
“For decades, Jack has also been the go-to colleague on our court for sound advice on investments and the management of our financial affairs,” Allen added. “He has always been generous with his time, knowledge, and counsel.”
A 1974 alumnus of Michigan State University, Gillis earned his law degree from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1977 before spending three years in private practice. His mentors included his father, John H. Gillis Sr., who served on the Wayne County Circuit Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals, and his uncle, Joseph Gillis, a member of the Recorder’s Court bench and a former pilot in the U.S. Air Force. From them, he must have learned plenty, according to Allen.
“On the bench, Jack is a steady hand with lawyers and litigants alike,” Allen noted. “Win, lose, or draw, he keeps cases moving with a minimum of drama and a healthy dose of common sense. Off the bench, Jack is our pied piper of fun. He never misses an opportunity to attend a bar association event, and he is always bringing colleagues together for holiday gatherings, dinners, lunches, or outings on his beloved sailboat. Jack has a remarkable ability to bring people together and to make sure everyone has a good time.”
When he was elected to the Recorder’s Court, Gillis was just 28 years old, the youngest judge in the court’s history in a role that was seemingly predestined.
“I remember being in a study group in law school and the talk going around the table about what we all wanted to do after obtaining our degrees,” Gillis related. “When I told everyone that I wanted to be a Wayne County Circuit judge they just giggled. They must have thought I was kidding.”
Of course, it has been no laughing matter when his colleagues consider the positive impact Gillis has made on the court since first donning a judicial robe.
“His 46 years on the bench is quite an accomplishment,” said his son, Judge John C. Gillis.
“As a current judge, I am often thinking about docket volume and statistics. By my estimation, my dad has played a role in resolving over 40,000 cases. And the work is not easy, particularly when his service has involved the areas of criminal, family, and civil law. As judges, we understand the importance of helping to resolve the most difficult problems our fellow Wayne County citizens face.
“It has been unique having a dad who has been on the bench my entire life,” Judge Gillis noted. “For 39 years, I have been hearing stories about his cases and meeting attorneys everywhere my dad and I go together. It’s rare to leave a restaurant without running into someone he knows. Even in an international airport in Toronto, he managed to bump into an attorney he is friends with. And the message each attorney relays is always similar, something along the lines of ‘I have known your dad for a long time and he has always been good to me. He is a fair judge and someone that I enjoy appearing before, something I wish I could say about more judges.’ That has stuck with me and I strive for attorneys to have a similar experience in my courtroom. My dad also impressed upon me the importance of keeping an even demeanor and never forming an ego, a trait too many new judges fall victim to.
“Off the bench, my dad has had an active role in shaping the next generation of attorneys,” Gillis indicated. “He has had dozens of summer law clerks, many of whom I have met and some of whom I am able to call friends. One has gone on to be the Chief Judge of the 50th District Court in Pontiac, the Honorable Jeremy D. Bowie. And once my dad officially retires from the bench, he will share office space with another former law clerk, John Cahalan.”
When Gillis begins the next chapter of his legal life as a mediator, he will do so in a 12-foot by 12-foot office in St. Clair Shores, some 15 miles north of the sweeping view of the Detroit River that he now enjoys from his chambers in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. In his current legal abode that sits across from the entrance to the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, Gillis is surrounded by a slew of treasured photos of his family, of his sailboat, and of assorted dignitaries he has come to know along the way. The mementos, he said, are “pleasant reminders” of where he has been and what he has accomplished.
“I consider myself very fortunate to have been in a job that I have enjoyed and found fulfilling,” Gillis said. “I’ve also been blessed with a wonderful wife (Carol) and family who have brought great joy into my life. As I get ready to leave the bench, I know that I won’t be a sit around the house type of guy. That is for sure.”
A fact reinforced by his son.
“He will stay busy traveling with his family and spending time outside sailing, golfing, and skiing,” predicted John Gillis. “His continued love for Spartan football endures, as he has now held season tickets for well over 50 years. And while he will not be in the courtroom, he will stay active in the law community through a mediation practice and attending legal functions. I know he will miss the privilege of serving Wayne County but it is time for a transition into the next phase of life.”
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