By Julie Freer
Legal News
In 2006, former Governor Jennifer Granholm appointed Judge David Murkowski as a Kent County Probate Court judge. In December 2007, the Michigan Supreme Court appointed him chief judge. This fall, Murkowski, currently serving as Chief Judge Pro Tempore, will seek re-election for a six-year term as probate judge.
During 20 years on the bench in Kent County, Murkowski has been involved with several judicial organizations, including as a board member of the Michigan Probate Judges Association (MPJA) for six years, and elected president in 2017. He continues to serve as a committee chair and liaison between the Probate and Estate Planning Council and the MPJA
“The men and women who serve on the probate bench work daily to serve the old, the disabled, the young, the vulnerable, and the dying,” he says. “That is our fulfillment. Much of the work is unnoticed and unheralded. I can find strength, fortitude, guidance, friendship and comfort through my MPJA colleagues.”
After graduating cum laude from Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1979, Murkowski graduated from Cooley Law School with honors in 1983. He served as law clerk to the Michigan House of Representatives Civil Rights Committee, and was a solo practitioner in Grand Rapids until 1993 when he joined Dilley & Dilley and specialized in criminal defense, juvenile neglect and delinquency, and probate law.
“I was fortunate to be surrounded by wonderfully brilliant law partners who served as my sounding board, plotters, and co-conspirators on cases, providing different perspectives on case issues,” he said. “Each were a source of support and encouragement. That camaraderie is diminished with judicial service. Judicial work is more isolating, more individual.”
Murkowski also served as a member of the State Bar of Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Section of the for six years, and was a judicial representative on the Michigan Trust Code Committee, which modernized outdated statutes covering trust creation, modification and administration. The Michigan Trust Code became effective in April of 2010.
Of his judicial philosophy, Murkowski says, “Love the law. Learn the law. Apply the law as it is written. Show up for work every day. Read every pleading. Engage your colleagues and co-workers. Listen. Think outside the box. Demand excellence from attorneys. Do not suffer the ill-prepared gladly.”
When it comes to handling the high tension of family disputes, Murkowski says the court should establish the tone.
“Be civil,” he says. “Sometimes it is necessary and wise to explain to the litigants and participants basic courtroom procedure and etiquette before the commencement of the trial. What we consider at court to be routine and familiar may be new and bewildering to a litigant. In contested litigation, I often order mediation. Mediation provides an opportunity for litigants to resolve their disputes themselves under the guidance of a trained mediator and without the formal rigors of a trial.”
Murkowski has seen the need for guardianships and conservatorships beginning earlier in life and continuing for longer periods.
He recalls a case where, through the work of an appointed public guardian, a man was able to turn his life around after years of struggling with alcoholism and homelessness.
"After years of frustration with his behavior, his family had had enough and turned from him,” says Murkowski. "A guardianship was filed by Adult Protective Services and a public guardian was assigned to serve him. There was no easy or simple fix here. Treatment was initiated for his alcoholism, perhaps more than once. Disability benefits were then established by the guardian. Stable housing followed. Treatment continued. Secondary services were secured. Long-term sobriety was sustained. And yes, finally the individual was reintroduced to his family and those familial ties reestablished. Guardianship was terminated. That is a success story!”
Legal News
In 2006, former Governor Jennifer Granholm appointed Judge David Murkowski as a Kent County Probate Court judge. In December 2007, the Michigan Supreme Court appointed him chief judge. This fall, Murkowski, currently serving as Chief Judge Pro Tempore, will seek re-election for a six-year term as probate judge.
During 20 years on the bench in Kent County, Murkowski has been involved with several judicial organizations, including as a board member of the Michigan Probate Judges Association (MPJA) for six years, and elected president in 2017. He continues to serve as a committee chair and liaison between the Probate and Estate Planning Council and the MPJA
“The men and women who serve on the probate bench work daily to serve the old, the disabled, the young, the vulnerable, and the dying,” he says. “That is our fulfillment. Much of the work is unnoticed and unheralded. I can find strength, fortitude, guidance, friendship and comfort through my MPJA colleagues.”
After graduating cum laude from Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1979, Murkowski graduated from Cooley Law School with honors in 1983. He served as law clerk to the Michigan House of Representatives Civil Rights Committee, and was a solo practitioner in Grand Rapids until 1993 when he joined Dilley & Dilley and specialized in criminal defense, juvenile neglect and delinquency, and probate law.
“I was fortunate to be surrounded by wonderfully brilliant law partners who served as my sounding board, plotters, and co-conspirators on cases, providing different perspectives on case issues,” he said. “Each were a source of support and encouragement. That camaraderie is diminished with judicial service. Judicial work is more isolating, more individual.”
Murkowski also served as a member of the State Bar of Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Section of the for six years, and was a judicial representative on the Michigan Trust Code Committee, which modernized outdated statutes covering trust creation, modification and administration. The Michigan Trust Code became effective in April of 2010.
Of his judicial philosophy, Murkowski says, “Love the law. Learn the law. Apply the law as it is written. Show up for work every day. Read every pleading. Engage your colleagues and co-workers. Listen. Think outside the box. Demand excellence from attorneys. Do not suffer the ill-prepared gladly.”
When it comes to handling the high tension of family disputes, Murkowski says the court should establish the tone.
“Be civil,” he says. “Sometimes it is necessary and wise to explain to the litigants and participants basic courtroom procedure and etiquette before the commencement of the trial. What we consider at court to be routine and familiar may be new and bewildering to a litigant. In contested litigation, I often order mediation. Mediation provides an opportunity for litigants to resolve their disputes themselves under the guidance of a trained mediator and without the formal rigors of a trial.”
Murkowski has seen the need for guardianships and conservatorships beginning earlier in life and continuing for longer periods.
He recalls a case where, through the work of an appointed public guardian, a man was able to turn his life around after years of struggling with alcoholism and homelessness.
"After years of frustration with his behavior, his family had had enough and turned from him,” says Murkowski. "A guardianship was filed by Adult Protective Services and a public guardian was assigned to serve him. There was no easy or simple fix here. Treatment was initiated for his alcoholism, perhaps more than once. Disability benefits were then established by the guardian. Stable housing followed. Treatment continued. Secondary services were secured. Long-term sobriety was sustained. And yes, finally the individual was reintroduced to his family and those familial ties reestablished. Guardianship was terminated. That is a success story!”
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