Legal Ethics
Bar Presidents Protest ‘Reckless’ Investigation of Mich. Judge
Posted Feb 29, 2008, 11:08 am CST
By Martha Neil
Twelve former presidents of the Grand Rapids Bar Association are protesting the "reckless" manner in which they say the Judicial Tenure Commission is investigating a Michigan judge.
In a letter (PDF) to the commission, they say that District Judge Steven Servaas, who has been on the bench for 35 years, is being publicly attacked over allegations that ordinarily would be handled privately, reports the Grand Rapids Press.
The judge is reportedly being investigated for allegedly living outside his jurisdiction, making inappropriate sexual comments and drawing inappropriate pictures while working, the newspaper reports. Supporters say he is an excellent judge and wonder whether his opposition to a planned courthouse move has anything to do with the fact that the investigation has been made public.
"Regardless of the reason that the Judicial Tenure Commission has undertaken to attack Judge Servaas, it has seemingly done so in a reckless manner," the 12 former bar presidents write. "In our judgment, it ought to reconsider this issue in its entirety."