Mich. Supreme Court Sides With Embattled Judge

The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled against the state's Judicial Tenure Commission, holding that Steven Servaas, a judge the commission had sought to remove from the state's 63rd District bench following a controversial investigation, should continue hearing cases for now.

"The state Judicial Tenure Commission in February sought an interim suspension for the long-serving Rockford judge, based on a complaint that he had been living outside his judicial division, made an inappropriate sexual comment to a court worker and allegedly drew two sexual-related doodles," reports the Grand Rapids Press.

A four-day hearing was held last week by a retired judge who is expected to issue a recommendation to the commission next month. The next step in the process would then be a commission hearing.

A dozen former presidents of the Grand Rapids Bar Association earlier protested the commission's "reckless" investigation of Servaas, who has been on the bench more than 35 years, as discussed in a previous ABAJournal.com post.