NORTH ADAMS — One of the toughest cases Timothy Morey handled during his 24 years as clerk magistrate at Northern Berkshire District Court involved a dispute over who owned a dog.

The dog was licensed in one person's name. Another person had cared for the dog while that person was away. Everyone involved was deeply emotionally attached, he said, and joint custody was not on the table.

“You can't, as they say, split the baby,” Morey said of the case, which came before him last year. “I made a decision, and on that day, half the people were crying tears of happiness, the other side was crying tears of sadness.”

Morey, who retires Friday after decades of holding one of the most public-facing roles at the court on Holden Street in North Adams, built a reputation for treating everyone who walked through the courthouse doors with patience and respect, even when they disagreed with his decisions. As one colleague put it: "Even if they didn't like the outcome, they liked the person."

Morey isn't planning a busy retirement. He’s looking forward to spending time with his grandchildren, golfing more at Waubeeka Golf Links, and umpiring local girls softball games — but not before the court staff, judges and attorneys held a sendoff party for him on Tuesday.

Clerk Magistrate Timothy J. Morey holds his 6-month-old granddaughter Isabella during his retirement party at Northern Berkshire District Court in North Adams on Tuesday.

The “clerk" part of Morey’s duties include running court and maintaining court records. The “magistrate” part gives him limited authority to hear and decide housing, small claims and “show-cause hearings,” where a clerk decides if there is enough probable cause to issue charges.

“He has defused enough situations at the counter of the [court] to qualify for a Nobel Peace Prize,” said Richard Taskin, a longtime defense and estate attorney in North Adams. “It is hard to think of anyone more widely respected in the legal community.”

With his wife Cathleen, at right, Clerk Magistrate Timothy J. Morey is feted during his retirement party at Northern Berkshire District Court in North Adams on Tuesday. He was appointed to the position in 2002.

An Adams native and Hoosac Valley graduate, Morey attended Northeastern University and Villanova Law School before returning to North Adams in 1983 to join Freedman, DeRosa and Rondeau.

He entered general practice before becoming North Adams city solicitor in 1988 at 29, under then-Mayor and current state Rep. John Barrett III.

“He was always very cordial, but most importantly, what exuded from him was his integrity,” Barrett said. “Even if I didn't like his opinion on some things, he usually won the day.”

The North Adams Transcript reported on Tim Morey's appointment as North Adams city solicitor in 1987.

Morey was appointed clerk magistrate of Northern Berkshire District Court in 2002, nominated by then acting Gov. Jane Swift, according to the North Adams Transcript. He began his career there with a goal: make the court as user-friendly as possible.

Clerk Magistrate Timothy J. Morey recognizes his staff as he speaks at his retirement party at Northern Berkshire District Court in North Adams on Tuesday.

“Coming to court, for most people, is not pleasant,” said Morey, 68. “So you try to be as helpful in providing guidance to the public and to the lawyers. I think, I hope, I succeeded in doing that.”

Like in the dog dispute, Morey said that while he couldn't make everyone happy, he always tried to explain the reasoning behind his decisions.

"And for the most part, people understand," he said.

Unlike judges, clerks continue interacting with people after cases end, making the role uniquely personal.

“You're kind of in a very tricky situation sometimes, because you're dealing with people that you might later be involved with,” he said. “I like working with people. I think that it’s important to give them as much information and guidance as possible, but it's a unique position. Sometimes that makes it tough, because you just can't walk away.”

The hardest part of the job is seeing people at some of the lowest points in their lives, he said.

Over the last decade, Morey saw a dramatic rise in substance abuse petitions and mental health-related cases.

“We're a small community here, and there are people who struggle with substance abuse and we see them in and out of the system,” he said. “You might read that they have passed by overdose and it affects us … because you do create a relationship with these people. They're here looking for help, they're involved in the system one way or the other and then all of a sudden, they're gone.”

His colleagues say Morey’s compassion with community members in sensitive situations is unmatched.

“We are going to miss him desperately,” said court operations supervisor Renee Sherman, who has worked in the clerk’s office with Morey his entire time there. “He is a huge part of this office. He’s been a mentor, a friend, he is Northern Berkshire District Court.”

Clerk Magistrate Timothy J. Morey embraces one of his colleagues at his retirement party at Northern Berkshire District Court in North Adams on Tuesday. After 24 years as clerk magistrate, Morey is retiring on Friday.

Morey said that any success the court has had at being more user-friendly was directly thanks to colleagues like Sherman and others in the clerk’s office, who he said share the same philosophy as him.

“I am very, very blessed to have them and that’s the biggest thing in retirement — leaving them behind,” said Morey. “I'm going to miss them dearly.”

He could keep doing the job, but Morey believes it's time for someone else.

“That's the beauty of our system, somebody who's going to replace me will do it differently than I, and change is good for our system,” he said.

His role has not yet been filled, he said, and it will likely take months for another appointment to be finalized by the governor.

For whoever is next in line, he offered some advice: keep an open mind, understand that most people are fundamentally good, and oftentimes, on the criminal side, people come to court because they made a mistake.

“They’re sinners, they’re not bad people,” he said. “I'm a sinner too. I stand at the head of the line. They may have made a mistake for any variety of reasons, and you try to see things through their eyes. I fundamentally like people, you know, so I try to see the best in people.”