TWO LONGTIME LEADERS RETIRE IN CASS COUNTY

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
CASSOPOLIS – Jan. 1 brought an end to an era in Cass County with the
retirement of two longtime county leaders. Cass Circuit Judge Michael Dodge
retired after a 40 year career as a judge, while Sheriff Joseph Underwood has
ended his long career with the sheriff’s department.
Dodge’s career began in Cass County when he got a job with a Cassopolis law
firm after he got out of the service in 1971. He then joined the county
prosecutor’s office and became the county’s first full-time prosecutor in 1973.
He was elected a probate court judge in 1976 and then appointed to the
circuit court judgeship in 1982.
A native of southeast Michigan, he received his undergraduate degree from
the University of Detroit Mercy and his law degree from the University of
Notre Dame.
Now 71, Dodge was not allowed by state law to run for re-election since he is
over 70. “An old friend on the bench told me he knew he was ready to retire
when he had no more opinions,” Dodge said in a recent interview. “It’s
mandatory but it’s a good thing. I’m ready for retirement.”
After a career where he handled thousands of cases, he said several stand
out. “I remember the cases that garnered the most publicity,” he said. “I had
been on the bench for just two months when I presided over the trial of
Calvin Holmes in the spring of 1982.”
Holmes was convicted of murdering a 25 year old Cassopolis woman and her
five year old daughter.
Another major case was that of Keith Lintz in 2013. Lintz was found guilty of
murdering Carolyn and John Tarwacki inside their Howard Township home
near Niles in 2010. The case went unsolved for more than two years before
Lintz’s arrest and later conviction.
Dodge noted that it took some adjustment when he first went on the bench.
“Initially it was a big adjustment to go from being a prosecutor to a judge,”
he said. “I was used to being an advocate and more of a participant in the
proceedings. You get used to being neutral and separating your personal
feelings after a while.”
“I’ve tried to stay objective and professional, but sometimes the stories you
hear can tear at the heart strings. We see people at the most terrible times of
their lives whether they’re defendants or victims. You can’t help but be
affected when some someone has been seriously hurt. I’ve been most
impressed to hear victims speak at sentencings.”
The extent of Dodge’s influence on so many lives has even surprised him.
“I’ve gotten a whole stack of cards from people, everybody has been really
kind,” he said. I even got a homemade card from someone in prison who
wished me a good retirement.”
Underwood has been a trailblazer of sorts as one of the very few African
American county sheriffs in the state of Michigan, but he prefers to see
himself as someone doing his job for the community he loves.
“I didn’t think about it in those (racial) terms when I ran,” Underwood said in
a recent interview. “Cass County doesn’t have the magnitude of problems
other places have. People look out for each other here. It’s never become an
issue that I know of.”
Underwood retired at the end of December as the Cass County Sheriff after a
career of over 40 years in law enforcement, primarily with the Cass County
Sheriff’s Department. The Cassopolis area resident began his law enforcement
career with the city of Dowagiac in 1971 and joined the sheriff’s department
two years later. He became sheriff in 1992.
“My dad was the village marshal in Vandalia and I was involved in the junior
deputy program the county had,” Underwood said. “After I got out of the
service (he earned a Purple Heart in Vietnam), I became a reserve officer for
the sheriff’s department. I wanted to get involved.”
He said some of the biggest changes he’s seen have been in technology and
training. “I have absolutely seen a lot of changes,” he said. “There’s much
more technology and we never get enough training. Back in the 70s, we took
our oath, got our equipment and rode with another officer a few times. Now
there’s more and more training.”
“Now, the equipment we put in the car costs more than the car itself. We
have everything we need to maintain everyone’s safety. We were one of the
first departments to go to in car cameras. They are valuable tools. It’s not a
matter of he said/she said anymore, we can look at the tapes.”
When asked about memorable cases, he cited the 1991 Lindsay Ryan case
where a former Indiana convict came to Cass County, befriended a 14 year
old girl and convinced her to run away with him. They were tracked to
California through Amber Alert information and he was captured and the girl
was saved.
“We got a national award for our efforts from the center for missing and
exploited children,” he said. “It showed what we can do when we maximize
our efforts and coordinate cases.”
Underwood said he’s looking forward to retirement. “It’s time,” he said. “This
is not a job where you can leave it at work. It’s a 24/7 job, I get calls at
home. It’s not just about the roads and traffic, we have a jail to run. We built
the current jail in 1990.”
His immediate plans include taking a trip to Florida in January to give him
time to “decompress.” His wife retired as the director of the Department of
Human Services for Cass and St. Joseph counties last January and he said
they now plan to travel more including touring the country’s national parks.