Hon. Chad C. Schmucker
Chief Circuit Judge
4th Judicial Circuit Court

Judge Schmucker was appointed to the bench in 1991 by Gov. John Engler and was elected to six-year terms in 1992 and 1998. He was appointed Chief Circuit Judge of the court by the Michigan Supreme Court in 1996 and has held that responsibility since.

He also served as acting probate judge for one year and has been assigned several times to serve as a visiting judge in the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Judge Schmucker, a graduate of Lumen Christi High School in 1972, received a degree at the University of Michigan in 1974 and Wayne State University Law School in 1977. He then practiced law with the firm of Best, Schmucker, Heyns & Klaeren from 1977 to 1991, specializing in personal injury litigation.

Judge Schmucker is a former member of the Jackson Public School Board and as a judge has been involved in a variety of organizations, including the Michigan Foster and Adoptive Parent Assn. Board, Michigan Judicial Institute, Domestic Violence Benchbook Committee, State Bar of Michigan Plain English Committee, and the Jackson County Jail Committee. In 1955, he started the Jackson County SMILE Program for divorcing parents, and in 1998, he led the effort to create the court’s Family Division.

Judge Schmucker has been a presenter for judicial, legal, and community organizations including for the Michigan Judicial Institute, the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the Washtenaw County Bar Assn., the Head Start State Conference, and numerous local civic organizations. He was the keynote speaker at the Michigan Foster and Adoptive Parent Assn. 1999 annual conference, has been a panel member for several conferences on domestic violence, and was an instructor at the Trial Skills Advocacy Workshop in Ann Arbor in 1997, 1999 and 2000.

In 1997, Judge Schmucker received an award from the Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board for his collaborative efforts to end domestic violence.