– Photo by Paul Janczewski
Chief Judge Gerald Rosen (left) of the Eastern District of U.S. District Court and Judge Thomas Ludington strike a pose after the ceremony.
By Paul Janczewski
Legal News
A capacity crowd filled every seat in the historic Bay City federal court on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Two television stations, several photographers and print media members also were on hand.
But the crowds were not there to hear testimony in a stunning trial, but rather for rededication ceremonies on the courthouse’s recent renovations.
To mark the event, more than half of the current and senior judges from the Eastern District of Michigan traveled north on I-75 for the festivities at the courthouse on 1000 Washington Avenue, paying tribute to its colorful history.
It also marked the first time the federal jurists have held their judges’ meeting in Bay City, the northern-most court of the sprawling Eastern District.
A handful of the U.S. District Court judges who began their careers in Bay City – some retired, some still active – also spoke of the court’s storied past, reminisced on times, cases and judges of the past, and added to the historical flavor the event presented.
“Things have improved dramatically in terms of ambiance and the décor,” said Eastern District Chief Judge Gerald Rosen, who began his career as a federal judge here in 1990.
Although only located in Bay City for three months, Rosen spoke kindly of his predecessor, James Churchill, saying he made the transition for Rosen “seamless.”
“He was extremely helpful to me,” Rosen said. “I not only learned the ropes here in the Bay City courthouse, but also the best restaurants.”
Churchill was one of a few judges who spoke during the ceremony.
And while most of the attention was leveled to an infamous 1956 event when an armed gunman burst through the doors and fired a shotgun blast that narrowly missed hitting Judge Frank Picard, the event consisted of equal amounts of levity, formality, and the required pomp and circumstance federal judges deserve.
Judge Thomas Ludington, the presiding judge in Bay City, earlier said he and Rosen had been discussing necessary renovations for some time, and concluded the building did not allow court employees to be as productive as possible.
The $1.2-million project began about four years ago to renovate the second and third floors.
The building also houses a U.S. Post Office, the District Court and staff, Probation, Pre-Trial Services and the Clerk’s office.
In the past, a Custom’s House and other federal agencies, including a bankruptcy court and U.S. Attorney’s Office called it home before moving elsewhere.
But as the functions of the remaining tenants changed, officials decided those spaces needed to be updated and changed as well. Although it had — and still has — 24,500 square feet of space for the nearly three-dozen employees, the space was not used to reflect modern day technologies.
Before the project began, Ludington, Rosen and key players in the project consulted with the people who know the building best – employees of the court, department heads in Detroit and others who had a stake in the building’s success.
Saginaw fought for the right to house it, but Bay City prevailed. The building was demolished in 1931 and rebuilt, and renovated several times, most recently in 1994, when those bullet holes were patched and covered up.
The bullet holes came on March 12, 1956, when Stanley Wloch, a former mental patient who had threatened Picard in writing in the past, almost made good on those threats in person by barging through the door as Picard was conducting a trial and fired a 16-gauge shotgun blast at him.
It left a pattern of pellets on the wall, but missed Picard. Some reports say Picard helped chase the man down, while others say Wloch was already in custody by an FBI agent, but all say Picard remained calm and soon continued with the trial.
Judge David Lawson, who also served in the Bay City court for six years, wrote a seven-page historical view of the court, complete with footnotes, sources and anecdotal information on history and some of the judges who served there.
The rededication event began with a tour of the updated court and offices, and the judges in attendance held their meeting. After lunch, Court Administrator David J. Weaver opened the special session for the public, and 16 current and senior U.S. District Court Judges, several magistrates from the Eastern District and a bankruptcy judge filed in the courtroom.
U.S. District Judges from the Eastern District of Michigan who attended included newest member Gershwin Drain; Robert Cleland; Stephen Murphy III; George Caram Steeh; Victoria Roberts; Mark Goldsmith; Paul Warner; David Lawson; and Ludington. Senior Judges included Avern Cohn; Marianne Battani; John Corbett O’Meara; Patrick Duffy; and Arthur Tarnow.
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