JUDGESHIP CHANGES IN BOTH BERRIEN AND CASS COUNTY

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent

Changes are coming to the judicial leadership of Berrien and Cass Counties. Berrien County Trial Judge Dennis Wiley will be stepping down from the bench at the end of his term in 2022, while Cass County Probate Judge Susan Dobrich is retiring this week.

Both judges have served in their respective positions for more than two decades.

Dobrich was first elected to the bench in 1994, while Wiley was appointed in November, 1996. Neither judge would be able to run again when their terms are up due to age limits.

The two have had somewhat similar career paths. Both were county prosecutors before becoming judges and also spent time in private practice. Judge Wiley also served in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps for four years during his career.

Although the election to find Wiley’s successor is several months away, one person has already tossed his hat in the ring. There will be a primary next August if three or more people decide to run for the six year judgeship in order to narrow the field to two. If only two candidates filing to run, the only election will be in November.

Paul Jancha, Jr. is currently the Berrien County Chief Public Defender, a post he’s held since March 2020. Previously he served in private practice since 2009 with his father, Paul Jancha, Sr. He is a St. Joseph native and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. He graduated with honors from the Michigan State University College of Law.

Jancha’s career has included handling family and civil cases as well as defending clients in criminal cases. A majority of his work-even before he formally joined the Public Defender’s Office in 2019-has involved accepting court appointments as a public defender and representing those who cannot afford the cost of a lawyer.

Since become the Berrien County’s Chief Public Defender, he has expanded the services offered by that office to include not only defense but the social services they may need to stay out of the criminal justice system. He has also gained extensive executive and administrative experience during his tenure.

As he noted on his website, www.janchaforjudge2022.com, Jancha said having the chance to expand the services of the Public Defender’s Office is one of his proudest accomplishments. The office’s first staff social worker was hired in the fall of 2020 with the second hired just this fall.

“If elected Berrien County District Court Judge, Paul intends to continue to promote fairness and justice for the citizens of Berrien County and all litigants that appear in the Berrien County Trial Court,” the website stated.

Jancha has already garnered one high-profile endorsement, that of Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey. “As Sheriff of the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department, I fully support and endorse Paul Steven Jancha for Berrien County District Court Judge,” Bailey stated. “He is asking for your vote on November 8, 2022.”

“I have observed ‘Paul Jr.’s’ work since he began in 2009. As a criminal defense attorney, Paul has provided his clients with zealous, ethical representation, while maintaining the utmost respect for law enforcement,” Bailey added.

“As Berrien County’s Chief Public Defender since March of 2020, he has tirelessly worked to elevate the professionalism of the Indigent Defense Department, and fiercely advocate on behalf of those appointed to the office,” he concluded. “Paul has my full support.”

Jancha is set to formally kick off his campaign with an event Jan. 20 at 6 p.m. at the Heritage Museum & Cultural Center.

In Cass County, there is no question as to who will succeed Dobrich. Carol Montavon Bealor was appointed to succeed Dobrich in November. Bealor currently serves as the court administrator, Friend of the Court director and circuit court attorney referee for the Cass County Courts and was scheduled to be sworn in Dec. 27.

She previously had a private practice handling criminal and civil litigation, family law and child protection proceedings. Bealor also served as a Cass County assistant prosecutor, Cass County public defender and an attorney member of the Cass County treatment courts.

As for Dobrich, her career has been filled with a number of firsts as well as a deep commitment to the problem solving court movement.

The Edwardsburg native came back home after law school and she began her public service tenure in 1980 with her work as an assistant prosecutor in the Cass County Prosecutor’s office. She was appointed prosecutor in 1983, becoming the county’s first woman prosecutor and one of only three in the state.

Dobrich stayed in that role until 1987 when she went into private practice with Jeff Holmstrom and the late Mark Westrate in Dowagiac for seven years before running for probate judge. She was elected in 1994 and took office the following January as the county’s first elected female judge.

Her honors and achievements have been many in the years she’s been on the bench. She took on Family Court and Family Treatment Court duties in 1997 and 2003 respectively and has been the Chief Judge of the Cass Circuit, Probate and District Courts since 2014.

Many of her proudest achievements come from her efforts in the Family Treatment Court. She spearheaded the establishment of problem solving courts in the county which now include not only Family Treatment Court but also Adult Treatment Court, Sobriety Court, Mental Health Court and the Swift and Sure Sanctions Probation Program.

Her efforts in the area of problem solving courts were recognized last year when she received both the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award and the Daniel J. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award from the Michigan Supreme Court. Cass County Courts have received over $5.2 million in federal grants under her leadership.

The final two years of Dobrich’s unexpired term will be on the November, 2022 ballot.

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