Suspended judge expected to testify about relationship with child-support case witness
Updated: A Michigan judge who has been suspended without pay is expected to testify Monday in a legal ethics case over his alleged sexual relationship with a witness in a case that was before his bench.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Wade McCree is charged in a Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission complaint with making a false report of a felony; improper conduct; improper bench conduct and demeanor; and making misrepresentations to the commission, the Detroit Free Press reports.
The ethics case followed a complaint by McCree to authorities that he was being stalked and extorted by a woman with whom he allegedly had a relationship while she was a witness in a child-support case in his court.
As Monday’s hearing began, the judge’s lawyer said he suffers from a bipolar disorder known as hypomania that affected his behavior, CBS Detroit reports.
Geniene La’Shay Mott, a witness in the child-support case with whom McCree admittedly has been involved, said in her testimony that the two exchanged text messages, some of them apparently while he was on the bench hearing cases.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Reports: Judge Complains of Claimed Stalker, Ends Up on Admin Leave, Facing Another Ethics Complaint”
ABAJournal.com: “Judge accused of having relationship with party in child-support case is suspended”
ABAJournal.com: “Judge admits sex with witness in chambers, but says it didn’t affect his decision-making”
Updated at 10:45 a.m. to include information from subsequent CBS Detroit coverage.
