Draganchuk announces retirement from Circuit Court bench

THURSDAY, Sept. 26 — Joyce Draganchuk, chief judge of the Ingham County 30^th circuit court, announced her retirement today, effective Dec. 31, ending two decades on the bench and a 37-year career as a public servant.

Draganchuk, 68, was elected to her fourth six-year term in 2022. She said she was retiring early in order to spend more time with her husband, who has been retired for 17 years. She was serving her last term under a state law that requires judicial candidates to be under the age of 70 at the time of the election.

A news release said, “Judge Draganchuk leaves the bench with sympathy and compassion for the many lives whose tragedies have unfolded in her courtroom but with gratitude for the privilege of serving.”

Draganchuk also had moments of controversy. Last year, she testified in district court that she was “scared for my safety” and that of others after a man she had sentenced to prison threatened to kill everyone involved in his case.

Her calm demeanor on the bench was apparent last year when Michael Doherty, a defendant in a civil matter, belligerently accused her of “corrupt and unacceptable actions.” Draganchuk sentenced him to 93 days for criminal contempt.

Draganchuk earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a law degree from Wayne State University in 1986.

She served in the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office for 16 years starting in 1988, first as an assistant prosecutor, then as chief assistant prosecutor for three years until she was elected judge in 2004.

She was appointed chief judge in 2021 and reappointed in 2023. Along the way, the state Supreme Court named her as a business court judge starting in 2013. Since 2020, she has chaired the Supreme Court’s Model Criminal Jury Instruction Committee, which creates jury instructions for criminal trials in Michigan.

Draganchuk “has been called upon repeatedly to teach and train defense attorneys, prosecutors, probation agents and other judges,” the news release announcing her retirement said. “She has been a frequent panelist for the Michigan Judicial Institute and for the Ingham County Bar Association on topics ranging from criminal sentencing to facilitative mediation in business cases.

“Judge Draganchuk was a regular visitor to Okemos High School, where she guest-taught their Street Law class,” the release continues. “She has lent her expertise to the Institute of Continuing Legal Education on topics from business litigation to evidence.  She most recently authored a chapter for an upcoming book on evidence. 

“Judge Draganchuk has been honored by the Ingham County Bar Association with the Camille S. Abood Distinguished Volunteer Award and the Mid-Michigan Region of the Women Lawyers Association with the Carolyn Stell Award.  She was a member of the MSU Chapter of American Inns of Court mentoring program for years and served as its president from 2019-2021.  For 17 years throughout her career, Judge Draganchuk used her lunch hour to deliver Meals-On-Wheels.”