Officers elected to lead judges association

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Annette Jurkiewicz Berry was elected by her colleagues to serve as the 84th president of the Michigan Judges Association (MJA). Other elected officers include Muskegon County Circuit Court Timothy G. Hicks as president-elect, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Lita Masini Popke as vice president, Kalamazoo County Circuit Court Judge Stephen D. Gorsalitz as secretary, and Van Buren County Circuit Court Judge Paul E. Hamre as treasurer. Oakland County Circuit Court Judge James M. Alexander serves as the immediate past president. The Michigan Judges Association is comprised of nearly 300 trial and appellate judges who serve in the Michigan Judiciary. Judge Annette Jurkiewicz Berry was elected to the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan, Wayne County, in November 2000. She is currently serving in her second term and is assigned to the Criminal Division. She began her legal career as an assistant attorney general with the Office of the Michigan Attorney General. During her career with the Department of Attorney General, Berry served as legal counsel for the Department of Licensing and Regulation, Department of Education, Department of Consumer and Industry Affairs/Insurance and Banking Division, and the Department of Secretary of State. For nearly eight years, she served as a prosecutor in the Criminal Division, specializing in white collar, economic and conspiracy crimes and served as chief prosecutor for all gaming prosecutions arising out of Detroit casinos. Berry has served as a member of the MJA Executive Board of Directors for seven years having served as chairperson of the Corrections Committee for five years. In addition, she serves on the Michigan Judicial Conference, State Bar of Michigan, as an ABA Delegate for MJA, Committee member on the State Bar of Michigan Jury Instructions, Standard Criminal Committee and Chair of the Michigan Court Forms Committee, Circuit and District Section, State Court Administrators Office (SCAO). Berry is an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Fla. She recently was named the 2010 Recipient of the ADC "Guardian of Justice Award," and has been recognized by the Boy Scouts of America with the "Outstanding Leader in Scouting" Award on behalf of the Great Lakes Council in Detroit. Berry is a graduate of the University of Michigan-Dearborn and received her law degree from Michigan State University Law School, formerly the Detroit College of Law. Judge Timothy G. Hicks taught, counseled, and coached at two rural schools before starting his law career in 1983. He practiced law for 13 years before his appointment to the 14th Circuit Court (Muskegon County) in 1996. He was chief judge from 1998-2003. He has taught business law at Central Michigan University and also teaches classes for the Michigan Judicial Institute. He has been a member of the MJA Executive Committee since 1998. Judge Lita Popke has been a member of the Family Division of the Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit for more than 10 years. From January of 2005 through December of 2007, she served as the presiding judge of the division and has been chief judge pro tem since 2009. Popke has also been a member of the court's Executive Committee since 2005. She was re-elected to the bench in 2010. In addition to her duties on the bench, Popke served as a member of the Child Support Leadership Council by appointment of the Michigan Supreme Court from 2004 through 2009. She has also served on the Michigan Judicial Institute Family Division Academic Advisory Committee, the SCAO Post-Judgment Docket Committee, and has served as a faculty member for the MJI New Judges Seminar. She has also served on the Dads From Day One Advisory Board and as a board member for the Mediation Tribunal Association. Before joining the bench, Popke was an appointed member of the State Board of Ethics, a Wayne County mediator, and active in various community organizations. She remains a member of the Schoolcraft College Development Authority. Popke has been an invited speaker on family law topics at numerous conferences, seminars, and radio programs throughout the state. Judge Stephen D. Gorsalitz is a Circuit Court judge in the Family Division of the Kalamazoo County 9th Judicial Circuit Court. He conducts hearings and trials, and makes decisions concerning children and parents involved in divorce, custody, abuse and neglect, and delinquency matters. He was a trial attorney for 23 years in private practice in the areas of domestic relations and personal injury law. He represented people in divorce matters and victims of accidents. Judge Paul E. Hamre is the chief judge of Van Buren County Family, District and Circuit Courts. In 1974, he received his B.A. in Political Science from Kalamazoo College and in 1976, he received his Masters Degree in Political Science from Western Michigan University. Hamre received his law degree in 1981 from Thomas Cooley Law School. After 15 years of private law practice, Hamre was elected as Circuit Court judge in 1996. In 1997, Hamre was appointed as the first Family Court judge in Michigan by the Michigan Supreme Court. From 2004-2006, Hamre served as the Michigan Judges Association Domestic Relations Committee chairman. He has also served as a member of the Michigan Judges Association Court Rules Committee and Executive Board. On August 6, 2001, Michigan Governor John Engler appointed James M. Alexander to the Oakland County Circuit Court. He assumed his duties on Sept. 4, 2001, and served in the Family Division until Dec. 31, 2010. He currently serves in the court's Civil/Criminal Division. Alexander served 4 years as presiding judge of the Family Division, and 5 years as the court's chief judge pro tempore. He was elected to his first full term on the court in 2002, and was re-elected in 2008. At the time of his appointment, Alexander was serving as director of the governor's Southeast Michigan Office where he acted as liaison between the governor's office and business, economic, and governmental communities of the tri-county areas. A native Detroiter, Alexander earned his B.A. from Miami University (Ohio) in 1970. He attended and graduated from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1973 and began a career in the private practice of law. After many years as a sole practitioner, he joined Foster, Swift, Collins, & Smith PC, opening a southeastern Michigan office for the firm. While at Foster Swift, he was in the Government and Commerce Department and led the Governmental Relations Practice Group. His practice consisted of governmental relations, commercial litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and the Oakland County Bar Association. He is also chancellor of the Oakland County Bar Association's Inn of Court. He has previously served as chairman of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section for the State Bar; chaired the Commercial Arbitration Advisory Board of the American Arbitration Association; and was co-chair of the Oakland County Bar Association Legislative Committee. He is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation and is a life fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation. In 1992, Alexander was awarded the Frances Avadenka Memorial Award by the OCBA "for his outstanding and significant contributions to the Oakland County Community." In 1995, he was selected "Boss of the Year" by the Oakland County Legal Secretaries Association. In March 2008, he received the "John N O'Brien Award" recognizing his contributions to the community through public service, charitable endeavors and volunteer service. In April 2009, he received a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the St. Clair Butterfly Foundation for his work on behalf of children. He has maintained a long commitment to politics. During a nearly 40 year political career, he served three terms as chairman of the Oakland County Republican Party; presidential elector; delegate to two national Republican conventions; staff at three conventions; and a volunteer on numerous national, state, and local campaigns. In 1991, Gov. John Engler appointed Alexander to serve on the Michigan Board of State Canvassers. In 1993, he was elected chairman of the board. He was reappointed to the board in 1995, and served until he joined the Engler administration. Alexander currently serves on the Walsh College President's Advisory Council; the Griffin Advisory Board of Central Michigan University; and the board of trustees of the Michigan Thanksgiving Day Parade Foundation. He has served as a member of the Permanency Options Workgroup created by Justice Maura Corrigan to review and revise law and policies regarding termination of parental rights cases. He also is a member of the Judicial Crossroads Task Force of the State Bar of Michigan and was vice chair of its Court Structure and Resources Subcommittee. He has also served on the boards of the Jewish Vocational Service and the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Strategic Planning Committee for the Jewish Association of Residential Care (JARC), and the Advisory Board of the Michigan Political Leadership Program. Published: Fri, Apr 15, 2011

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