Detroit judge found 'psychotic,' mentally ill, unfit for the bench
A Detroit judge facing possible disciplinary action has been found to be “psychotic,” seriously mentally ill and unfit for the bench.
The findings are contained in a report about Wayne County District Judge Brenda Sanders by the retired circuit judge presiding over the disciplinary proceedings against her, the Detroit News reports.
“Sadly the evidence clearly proves that respondent is psychotic and therefore seriously mentally ill,” retired Wayne County Circuit Judge Michael Sapala said of Sanders in his 18-page fact-finding report, released Tuesday. “Her mental disability renders her unfit to sit as a judge. Her illness prevents her from being able to properly perform judicial duties.”
Sapala presided over a disciplinary hearing last month by the state Judicial Tenure Commission, which has filed a disciplinary complaint against Sanders.
In its complaint, the commission alleged that Sanders is mentally unfit to be a judge and that she fraudulently received a paid medical leave from her $138,000-a-year job.
During the hearing, a psychiatrist testified that Sanders suffers from “paranoid delusions.” But Sanders, in an email to the newspaper, said the psychiatrist who testified against her never interviewed or evaluated her.
In his report, Sapala says the evidence clearly proves that Sanders “committed fraud” in her request for a long-term medical leave of absence. He also made reference to a 2013 letter Sanders allegedly wrote to federal prosecutors asking them to investigate her concerns that she was the target of a conspiracy.
The commission is expected to render its recommendation after its next meeting in March. The matter will ultimately be decided by the Michigan Supreme Court. Sanders announced last month that she intended to retire from the bench, but there has been no official notification that she’s done so.
