A man who loves the law: Phillips set to retire, but remain active on the bench
Courtesy photo
The Honorable Thomas J. Phillips, of Michigan's 86th District Court will officially retire at the end of the month, but is looking forward to returning as a "visiting" judge as often as possible.
BELLAIRE – After 18 years on the bench, all of it with the 86th District Court, an even longer career as an attorney in Traverse City, and four years as a Navy JAG officer, the Honorable Thomas J. Phillips is officially retiring on Dec. 31.
But he's not all that happy about it.
"I love practicing law," he said last week. "But the State of Michigan says you can't run for election after the age of 70. And I'll be 71 this year."
Phillips presided over hundreds of cases during his long career with the 86th District, which comprises Antrim, Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. Initially elected in 2000, the judge won re-election in both 2006 and 2012.
"Some of them were really minor, and some were more serious. But I tried to do the best I could with each and every one of them.
"I tried never to forget that, no matter how small the case, it was the most important thing in the world to the people involved in it," he said.
The people he worked with in the court made all the difference, Phillips said.
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