Daavettila

HOUGHTON — Becoming a judge in the age of COVID-19 means foregoing the trek to Lansing. 

Instead, Nicholas Daavettila was sworn in remotely Monday morning by Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack.

“I was in my living room,” he said. “She was in her living room, too, I think.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed Daavettila last week to be judge of the 97th District Court, which covers Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw counties. He replaces Mark Wisti, who is retiring. 

Daavettila had filed for the 2020 election last year, when Wisti declined to run for another term for health reasons. He will continue to run for a full six-year term in November. 

When the position was posted on the governor’s website, Daavettila filed an application, which includes writing samples and letters of recommendation. After that, he gave an interview, then met remotely with the Judicial Qualifications Committee. That was followed by another interview with a committee close to the governor, Daavettila said. 

He found out he had been named a week ago Monday night, when he received a call from the governor’s office, then talked with her that night. 

“I’m excited,” he said. “A little overwhelmed. but I’m looking forward to getting to work. I’ve got  basically until today to close down my practice, so I’ve been working on that all week.”

Daavettila has been a private practice attorney in Houghton, where he handled a variety of cases including criminal law, child protective proceedings, family law, and probate estates. He has spent the past week lining people up to take over his cases, he said. 

“It’s been a very fast week,” he said. 

He is also director and secretary of Tri-County Public Defenders, a non-profit corporation for Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw counties. 

Before going into private practice, Daavettila worked as an attorney with Tercha & Daavettila, where he also clerked while attending law school. His father, Robert Daavettila, was a lawyer for more than 30 years. 

Daavettila received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Michigan Technological University and his Juris Doctor degree from Marquette University Law School. 

Daavettila will take the bench for the first time Wednesday. It comes when operations are as unconventional as his swearing-in ceremony. As many hearings as possible are being held via teleconference. A number of hearings are being postponed. 

“That’s something I’m getting educated on, how we do this in a way that ensures nobody’s rights are getting violated in any way,” he said. “It’s definitely a challenge.”