Retired Circuit Court Judge Mark Switalski joined Switalski Law, PLLC. He is pictured with his wife, Jodi Debbrecht Switalski, a former judge, with whom he will practice at the firm in Mt. Clemens.
(Photo by Melanie Deeds)
By Melanie Deeds
Legal News
Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Mark Switalski hung up his robe for the last time in January. He bid farewell to his staff and colleagues, packed up personal items, and ended a judicial career that spanned three decades.
A monumental change, one might think, after 30 years of dockets and defendants and decisions; perhaps not such a huge change in his mind, however.
He’s now working within a stone’s throw of the courthouse, using the skills he perfected during his many years on the bench — listening, deliberating the facts and the law, and rendering his opinion.
In some ways, it’s much the same; in others, very different. But one thing is for sure — he loves his new gig.
“I’m doing some mediating and facilitation and I’m enjoying that,” said Switalski, 70, who immediately after his retirement joined Switalski Law PLLC, a law firm established by his wife, Jodi Debbrecht Switalski, a few years ago.
Jodi Switalski is a former Oakland County district judge and together the two have a combined 40 years on the bench.
“Jodi has an office right across the street from the courthouse,” said the newly retired judge. “We don’t live far from Mount Clemens. It’s all very convenient.”
A University of Michigan alum, Switalski established working relationships “with a lot of people over the years and lawyers who I know well and I work well with know a lot about me.
“I’m enjoying that and it keeps me in the loop,” said Switalski. “I’m in the courthouse once in a while but I’m not on a docket. It gives me some time to work things out and help people to get to a resolution on cases.”
After working as a private practice attorney for 11 years, the Boston University School of Law graduate took on the job of magistrate at 39th District Court in Roseville and was then elected to that bench, serving from 1989 to 2000.
Much of that time was spent as chief judge and, in that capacity, Switalski worked with Roseville city officials to plan, finance, and construct the city’s courthouse/police station complex expansion.
He then set his sights on Macomb County Circuit Court and was elected to that bench in 2000. He served as chief judge on that court for a time as well as Macomb County Probate Court.
Switalski carried a civil/criminal docket for years and handled the Family Court docket for several terms.
During his time as chief judge, Switalski started the first business court in the state.
The idea of such a court was proposed and pushed by the Business Section of the State Bar of Michigan, he noted, driven by lawyers who were “concerned about the time and expense typically involved in litigation.”
“Court time is very valuable and it takes a while to get there,” Switalski said.
With a court dedicated to business matters, “you devote a judge or two to the docket, they start to develop processes that are streamlined in terms of discovery, in terms of alternative dispute resolution, in terms of identifying quicker how the case can be resolved or put in a posture where a mediator or the court can get to a decision,” he said. “It has worked very well.”
Switalski, the oldest of seven children, also founded the circuit court’s Veterans Treatment Court in 2012, aimed at addressing the specific issues of substance abuse, pain management, and mental health that may lead to or factor into criminal behavior by vets.
“We needed a different approach when dealing with veterans,” he said. “I used to be exhausted after hearing some of those cases. Vets have a lot of problems and it’s a very rewarding thing when their cases are resolved and they become productive again.”
Switalski’s late father, Norbert, who died in 1981 at age 58, was among the owners of Sheldon Granite Co. A graduate of Catholic Central High School, he was shipped overseas for duty during World War II, Switalski related in a 2007 feature appearing in The Legal News.
“He was an MP in (General George) Patton’s 3rd Army and went all over Western Europe but mainly France, Belgium and Holland,” Switalski said of his father, who landed at Normandy several days after the D-Day invasion.
Macomb County Circuit Court operates drug and mental health courts as well, Switalski indicated.
“They are all kind of an indication of how our justice system is changing in a sense,” Switalski said.
One particular source of pride for Switalski is the Macomb County Jail Bed Allocation Agreement he negotiated and drafted in 2005.
The deal was signed by all 30 Macomb County judges after intense negotiations, said Switalski, who served for years as chairman of the initiative focused on solving a chronic jail overcrowding problem.
At the time, the jail was frequently straining with too many prisoners. Due to federal litigation, jail officials were ordered not to exceed a certain limit that was well below the usual occupancy number.
The success of the JBAC, according to Switalski, was due in great part to the commitment of his fellow judges to public service.
“I was very satisfied,” he said. “I was proud of the judges. They all bought it and it worked so well.”
Over the years, Switalski has presided over hundreds of jury trials and has tried and settled hundreds of divorce cases and child custody disputes.
As Macomb Bar Association President Francesco Briguglio noted in a recent article in the association’s monthly magazine Bar Briefs: “Judge Switalski imparted his wisdom on attorneys and parties alike. In his own unique way, he helped calm the choppy waters that is the Family Division of the Circuit Court.”
In his post-retirement endeavor, Switalski is looking forward to making an impact, confident in his ability to create outcomes that satisfy both parties.
“When you come in as a mediator, the case is old enough that they haven’t been able to resolve it,” he said. “They are at an impasse of sorts.
“I’ve resolved thousands of cases as a judge over the years. I know I can give them my perspective, my assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the case.”
At the same time, Switalski “can tell them what litigation is like. Plus, I get to talk directly to the people in a way I couldn’t as a judge.”
Since he won’t be “on the clock in the same way I was as a judge,” Switalski said he can really focus on the matters at hand.
“As a judge, if I have 10 cases in a day and I’m in a trial, I don’t have that much time to spend with them,” he said. “As I mediate the cases, I can really get into it.”
With a good summary of the dispute from attorneys on both sides, Switalski said he can hit the ground running, “prepared, knowing a lot about the case from the get-go. Then I get to listen to them, start to understand them and what their concerns are. It’s challenging but I’m there to perform a service and resolve their case.”
With his decades of experience on the bench, Switalski said he “can tell them what I think of their position as a judge.
“It’s just my opinion, but it’s an opinion based on hearing a lot of cases and deciding a lot of cases over the years. I’ve been in court for 30 some odd years making decisions. I can bring that perspective.”
Another essential skill in mediation, Switalski noted, is the ability “to read people” and “to be honest” with them.
“I think it’s important,” he said. “I need to be frank about their position. I’m going to tell them their strengths and weaknesses. They’re going to know that I hear their position.
“That’s important and something you learn to do on the bench,” said Switalski, whose brother Matt has been a judge on the Macomb Circuit Court since 2002. “You can’t make everybody happy. There are winners and losers in trials. But they need to know that they were heard. At least if they know they were heard, they know they’ve been dealt with reasonably carefully.”
As Switalski goes further along his new career path, he’s also taking some time to focus on one of his passions — baseball.
He played ball in high school and fondly recalls when he was a member of a police league team while serving on the district court.
Switalski was playing in the senior hardball league for about three years before COVID-19 — as well as some “arm trouble” — temporarily sidelined him. Along with some rehabilitation sessions for his arm, he has been visiting an indoor baseball facility so he can get in shape for the upcoming season.
“I’m hoping to play this summer,” said Switalski, a southpaw who plays outfield, first base, and pitches on occasion. “It’s something I enjoy and it’s age appropriate.”
The league also holds tournaments around the country and Switalski is hoping to take part in those games.
“I hope to have time this year,” he said. “It’s something I really enjoy.”
And it undoubtedly would make his father proud, as the late family patriarch also had a love for the national pastime.
“When my dad was shipped stateside in early 1946, he went straight to a baseball camp for all unsigned returning GIs in Florida run by (Hall of Fame pitcher) Bob Feller, himself returning from Navy duty,” Switalski said in the 2007 Legal News story.
His father eventually signed with the Cincinnati Reds and also had a minor league stint with the Philadelphia Phillies as a third baseman.
“My parents met while my dad was playing minor league ball in Salinas, Kansas,” Switalski said. “My mom’s dad played in the pre-Branch Rickey unaffiliated lower minors and barnstormed well into his 40s.”
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