My City June 2022

MYSTORY

“Nobody is having a good day when they are coming to court. People are nervous and I have to focus on that and be patient. And at the end of the day, I try to treat people fairly.”

McCabe was born inDetroit and grew up inOakland County, attending University of Detroit High School. Originally wanting to become a teacher, he obtained his undergraduate degree in education at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. “But then, I decided to go to law school and never looked back.”He went on to earn his Juris Doctor atWayne State University and ended up in Flint after being chosen to be a clerk for an attorney in the area. “He recruitedme while I was in law school,”McCabe remembers. OnNovember 9, 1976 he was sworn in and then started practicing law. “ˆis was the ‰rst time I set foot in Flint,” saysMcCabe. “I knew nothing about the city, but have never regretted a second of practicing here.”

What types of cases are heard by a 67th District Court judge? According to McCabe, they have jurisdiction over all misdemeanors and criminal cases that carry a sentence of less than one year in the county jail. District judges also hear preliminary examinations in felony matters. In addition, they can hear felony pleas, but the matter is then sent to Circuit Court for sentencing. New legislation was implemented that gave District Court judges jurisdiction over municipal and state civil infractions,McCabe explains. ˆese are matters that involve zoning issues, trespassing, or failure to keep property up to standard. Previously, these types of cases were handled in Circuit Court and a lawsuit had to be ‰led. Flint Senator Joe Conroy played

a key role in changing the legislation. “He really championed that,”McCabe notes. District Court judges handle tra’c and landlord/tenant cases, civil lawsuits that are $25,000 or less, and small claims matters.ˆey are also on call 24 hours a day to issue search warrants for law enforcement. McCabe was inspired by former Genesee County Circuit Court Judgeˆomas Yeotis. “Judge Yeotis was everything a judge should be,” McCabe states. “I try to live up to what he taught me every day.” Nobody is having a good day when they are coming to court, Yeotis would tell him. “People are nervous and I have to focus on that and be patient. And at the end of the day, I try to treat people fairly.” He also says that nobody is 

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