Judge Patrick C. Bowler

Judge Patrick C. Bowler is a Judge with the 61st District Court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was elected in 1984, and served as Chief Judge for ten years.

Judge Bowler was an honors graduate of Michigan State University in 1968, and an honors graduate of the Detroit College of Law in 1975. From 1975 1985, Judge Bowler was the Director/Attorney of the Kent County Office of the Defender. Judge Bowler is an Adjunct Professor of Law at MSU DCL where he teaches Criminal Procedure. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Law at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and is a faculty member of the Michigan Judicial Institute.

Judge Bowler was President of the Michigan District Judges Association in 1994. He served on the Executive Board of the Judicial Conference Section of the Michigan State Bar and was elected Chairperson in 1997. He served as Co Chair of the Michigan State Bench/Bar Planning Committee for four years. Judge Bowler has served as Co Chair of the Racial Justice Institute Immediate Response Team and as Co Chair of the Grand Rapids Bar Association’s Legal Assistance Center Committee. Judge Bowler was elected President of the Grand Rapids Bar Association for the term 2002-2003.

In 1998 Judge Bowler instituted a Drug Treatment Court Program for felons and misdemeanants in Kent County, Michigan. He has served as the Drug Treatment Court Judge for the last eight years. Judge Bowler also founded a Sobriety Court Program directed at multiple-offender misdemeanor and felony drunk drivers. He also founded and serves as Sobriety Court Judge for a Hispanic Sobriety Court. Judge Bowler recently completed service as a member of the Board of Directors of Project Rehab, a residential and outpatient drug rehabilitation program in Grand Rapids.

In 2004 Judge Bowler was chosen to serve on the faculty of the National Drug Court Institute and presently assists in the development of drug treatment courts and sobriety courts nationwide. He represents the State of Michigan as representative to the Congress of State Drug Court Associations and serves as a consultant to the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. In 2002, Judge Bowler was elected President of the Michigan Association of Drug Court Professionals for a two-year term and continues to serve on the Board of Directors. Pursuant to Public Act 224 of 2004 Judge Bowler was appointed by the Michigan Legislature to serve on the first State Drug Treatment Court Advisory Committee and presently serves as Chair of the Committee.