Judge Chad C. Schmucker, a circuit judge in Jackson County, has been named state court administrator by the Michigan Supreme Court, Chief Justice Robert P. Young, Jr. announced recently.
Schmucker will succeed Carl L. Gromek, who is retiring after serving as State Court Administrator since December 2004.
The chief justice 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,” Young said. “The court is confident that Judge Schmucker is the right person for the State Court Administrator job and a worthy successor to Mr. Gromek.”
The State Court Administrative Office, which Schmucker will head, is the administrative arm of the Michigan Supreme Court.
As administrator, Schumucker will oversee administration of the state’s 246 trial courts.
His responsibilities will include supervising SCAO's four regional offices and all SCAO divisions, including Michigan Judicial Institute, Judicial Information Systems, Child Welfare Services, Office of Dispute Resolution, and Trial Court Services.
A graduate of the University of Michigan, where he earned an undergraduate degree in accounting, Schmucker received his law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 1977.
He practiced law with the Jackson firm of Best, Schmucker, Heyns & Klaeren from 1977 until 1991, when he was appointed to the circuit court by Gov. John Engler.
Schmucker, who served as chief judge of the Jackson County Circuit Court from 1996 to 2001 and 2004 to 2009, implemented the court's family division and started the Jackson County SMILE (Start Making It Livable for Everyone) program for families undergoing divorce.
He helped found the Jackson County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, which he chaired from 1996 to 2001. Since 2007, he has served as a judge of Jackson's “Recovery Court,” a rehabilitative program for offenders with substance abuse problems; he also helped pioneer his court's domestic violence, family dependency, and mental
health court programs.
As a member of the Jackson County New Jail Project, he led a successful effort to reduce jail overcrowding.
A frequent lecturer for the Michigan Judicial Institute and Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Schmucker has helped train new judges; he has made numerous presentations on domestic violence, family law, case and time management for judges, evidence-based sentencing, trial advocacy, alternative dispute resolution, and mental
health courts.
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