This is the thirty-first of our Court Times articles that highlight up close and personal a member of the Indiana Judiciary. St. Joseph Circuit Court Judge Michael G. Gotsch, Sr. is our judge featured in this issue. He has served in this capacity since his appointment by Governor Joseph E. Kernan in May, 2004. He was elected to a six-year term in 2004, and re-elected in 2010.
Before becoming a judge, he served as the Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Chief of Staff in the Office of St. Joseph County Prosecuting Attorney Michael A. Dvorak (2003-04). He was in private law practice in South Bend, Indiana (1999-2002), during which time he also represented the St. Joseph County Office of Family and Children in child welfare cases. He began his legal career as a deputy prosecuting attorney and division director in the Office of St. Joseph County Prosecuting Attorney Michael P. Barnes (1987-1998). Prior to commencing his legal career, he was a commissioned officer in the United States Army (1980-84), rising to the rank of Captain.
Admitted to the Indiana, Michigan and federal bars, Judge Gotsch has the distinction of serving as a Presidential Appointee to U.S. Department of Justice Task Force on Criminal Nonsupport of Children, an Official Observer to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, and a Commissioner on the Indiana Commission on Abused and Neglected Children and their Families. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Judicial Conference of Indiana, and Board of Directors (and past President) of the St. Joseph County Bar Association. Judge Gotsch is a Fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation.
Judge Gotsch graduated with an A.B. in Government and International Relations from the University of Notre Dame in 1979, and earned his J.D. from the Notre Dame Law School in 1987. He is an adjunct assistant professor of law at the Notre Dame Law School, and has served as a moot court and mock court trial judge. He is a regular lecturer at law schools, universities, colleges, and continuing legal and judicial education conferences and seminars. He has been a keynote speaker and lecturer at national, regional, and state child welfare conferences and seminars.
Judge Gotsch has received many awards and distinctions during his professional career, including the Outstanding Judge Award from the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, North Central Indiana YWCA’s Man of the Year, the Spirit of Giving Award from the Family and Children’s Center, the Distinguished Service Award from the Indiana Department of Public Welfare, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indiana Child Support Alliance. The LaSalle Council of the Boy Scouts of America presented him with the Silver Beaver and the Soaring Eagle Awards. During his military service, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Army Achievement Award. He is also a member of the Honorable Order of the Kentucky Colonels.
He is married to Sarah Gotsch, and they have five children (ages 21 to 39) and one grandchild (age 4).
What do you like most and least about being a trial court judge?
Most: The honor to make a difference in my community on a daily basis.
Least: The lack of civility between lawyers and among litigants.
What was your major in college and why did you decide to study law?
Government and International Relations at the University of Notre Dame. Attended college on an ROTC Scholarship and served in the United States Army for four years.
My interest in law was encouraged by my Dad, who was a federal investigator.
What would you do if you were not a judge?
If I had any talent, I would have been a professional baseball player. Absent that, in no particular order, I would be a history/law professor, disk jockey, dog whisperer, travel planner, park ranger, and Jeopardy contestant.
Who are the people you most admire?
Besides my late parents, Jerry & Joanne Gotsch, I most admire Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, and Abraham Lincoln.
What are your hobbies or favorite leisure activities, and how did you first get involved?
Scouting. I have been involved in Scouting since 1964 as Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Explorer Scout. I was awarded Eagle Rank in 1972, and received Silver Beaver and Soaring Eagle awards from the LaSalle Council. Currently serving as immediate past president of the LaSalle Council.
Travel. My Dad and Mom enjoyed traveling and infected my brother and me with the travel bug. I have traveled to each of the 50 states, and several foreign countries. I was an exchange student in Japan during my sophomore year of college. My wife and I look forward to a time when we will be able to travel more often.
What are your favorite books, and have you read any recently, or are reading now, that you would recommend?
Favorite Books:
- All the Kings Men, Robert Penn Warren
- To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
- Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Men at Work, George Will
Recent books:
- The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War, James Bradley
- A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 Invasion of Mexico, Amy S. Greenberg
- American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America, Colin Woodward
Where did you grow up and how would you describe your childhood?
Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C. My childhood becomes more idyllic as the years progress or maybe the stories just get better with the telling. I lived in Chicago until I was nine when my Dad was transferred to Washington, D.C. When we were in Chicago, he took the cub scout pack to the FBI field office, where the agent retrieved the Thompson machine guns from the gun safe and took us to the range. Twenty wide-eyed cub scouts had about as much fun and adventure as possible. Later, he organized a field trip to FBI headquarters in downtown Washington, including a full tour of the fingerprint and forensic laboratories, a tour of the control tower at National (now Reagan) Airport, and a VIP tour of the White House. It should come as no surprise that I am interested in law and history.
Do you have a favorite quote(s)?
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
“It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious,”
—Author unknown
Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Any National Park, but especially Volcanoes, Crater Lake, and Yosemite.
Do you have a favorite meal, recipe, and restaurant?
Anthony’s Pier 66 Restaurant, Seattle, Washington—Crab Cakes appetizer, Columbia River Salmon, and Four-berry Cobbler. Absolutely scrumptious! (Elliott’s in Seattle is a close second).