Latest Twist in Detroit Mayor Saga: Judge Says City Can't Remove Him
The city council doesn’t have the power to remove Detroit’s embattled mayor from office, a Michigan judge has ruled.
However, today’s decision by Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski doesn’t derail a planned Sept. 3 hearing on Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick by the state’s governor, reports the Associated Press.
Kilpatrick has been on a roller-coaster ride lately, as he defends himself in two felony cases. The main one involves his alleged perjury concerning an $8.4 million city settlement of two police whistle-blower cases that has sparked public outrage, as discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts. (The mayor is accused of having pulled a fast one on the city council by agreeing to the settlement in an effort to keep secret text messages that revealed his alleged perjury—and an affair with a former top aide.)
At last report, the mayor was again on an electronic tether, after traveling outside the Detroit area on business in violation of bond restrictions.
Related coverage:
Detroit Free Press: “Kilpatrick and Worthy reach an impasse on plea deal”
ABAJournal.com: “Detroit v. Detroit: Law Prof Represents City as Council Seeks to Fire Mayor”
