NILES —  For the past 21 years, Scott Schofield’s typical work attire consisted of the pristine black robe donned by judges. But after less than a week of retirement Thursday, the former Berrien County judge said it felt good to kick back in flip flops and shorts.

Schofield retired from his role as a judge at the Berrien County Courthouse’s criminal trial court on Aug. 31. He is the only judge who has a legacy of serving on all three of the trial court’s divisions, which also include family and civil.

Through presiding over a great number of cases and trials, Schofield left his mark on the local criminal justice system, while also finding a way to leave a mark on his community, whether inside or outside of the courthouse.

“I think it is just the consistency, coming to work every day and doing my best every day, trying to decide each case correctly and fairly and after 21 years of that it somehow amounts to a body of work,” Schofield said.

Prior to his work as a judge, Schofield served as a lawyer for 21 years. He was first appointed by former Gov. John Engler in 1997. He was elected to return to the bench in 1998, 2002 and 2008. In the days to come, Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to appoint Schofield’s replacement.

Schofield served as the presiding judge on a number of high profile cases, including the decision to hand down a life sentence to Dakotah Eliason, a 14-year-old from Niles charged with first-degree murder after fatally shooting his grandfather in 2010. Schofield would also later re-sentence Eliason as an adult to a minimum of 35 to 70 years in prison, after a Supreme Court ruling deemed that juveniles cannot receive a mandatory life sentence.

There were other less tragic cases that stick out in his mind, too, including a civil case involving Harbor Shores, a Benton Harbor golf course. Schofield had to determine if the course met the definition of public use as designated by the land’s donor: the Jean Klock family.

“There was a lot of debate about whether it was a good idea or a bad idea to turn much of the park over into a golf course,” Schofield said. “My job as a judge was not to answer that question. My job as a judge was to decide was this a violation of the Klock deed restrictions.”

Schofield likes to run and said that he occasionally passes by the golf course and often his mind will go back to the courtroom and that case.

“When you drive through now, you can see the area was really transformed by this development,” Scholfield said. “There were a lot of people who really thought this was a good shot in the arm for Benton Harbor — it made a major difference in that area.”

In between the major cases, there were plenty of other sentences and Schofield was often reminded of those, too.

While shopping in the grocery store or running errands, he said the public did not appear to be shy in approaching him to talk about the latest case that they read in their local newspaper. Despite the momentary interruptions from his task, Schofield said he liked engaging with the public in that way and knowing that they were staying on top of what was happening in their local courtroom.

“I really appreciated all the coverage I got,” Schofield said. “It is important for people, the county, to know what is going on in their court system. Because, if we are doing our job and it is reported fairly, it enhances the confidence people have in their court system.”

Schofield described being a judge in Niles as the highlight of his career. He said he liked being part of his hometown in this way and helping to make decisions that impacted Niles residents. Being a judge in Niles meant many familiar faces, including running into those he had sent to prison or jail that had been released after serving time. What may surprise some is that sometimes these former defendants expressed gratitude to Schofield.

“They would say, ‘Judge, how you doing?’” Schofield said. “Some people would thank me for their sentence, like, ‘I learned a lesson when I was in prison.’ That was really gratifying.”

Knowing in those moments that he had acted fairly and that it played a small part in someone’s life was the best part about being a judge, he said.

With all this in his career accolades, retiring has its bittersweet moments, but overall the judge said he is looking forward to beginning the next chapter in his life.

The first day after his retirement, Schofield sat in a movie theater watching “Winnie the Pooh.” As he followed the adventures of the beloved stuffed bear, Pooh mentioned something that resonated with the former judge: “Doing nothing often leads to the best of something.”

Looking ahead, Schofield said he is looking forward to enjoying a little nothing and seeing what adventures it takes him on next.