DIRTY LAUNDRY PILES UP

It’s not often the public gets a look behind the curtain when it comes to the judiciary, most likely to maintain the air of decorum that contributes to the public’s trust in how justice is administered. But a situation that’s been brewing for a couple of years at the 52nd District Court in Troy has finally bubbled up publicly involving complaints about District Court Judge Kirsten Nielson Hartig. The judge, first elected to the court in 2010 and now serving her third six-year term, has been the subject of formal complaints in the past to the Judicial Tenure Commission, which generally won’t even confirm that they are fielding objections to how a member of the bench performs. So it was unusual in recent weeks that the commission released a 16-page complaint filed against Hartig, which will kick off a court-like proceeding that could end with the suspension by the Michigan Supreme Court or at worse the removal from the bench for her honor. The commission in early June made public complaints that Hartig had created a “climate of fear” for lawyers and courthouse personnel and she was accused of dismissing cases with prejudice due to a supposed grudge she has with the office of Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald after members of her office have reportedly filed formal complaints about the judge. Supposedly the judge has filed grievances against prosecutors. What has turned up the heat even more on the drama at the district court is a partial leak of some results of a commission-ordered May 2024 psychological evaluation of the judge as “unsafe to practice due to disruptive behavior and personality dysfunction.” The commission complaint also accuses Hartig of providing false information and stalling for six months in providing a copy of the psych report. To boil down the soap opera further, District Court Presiding Judge Travis Reed barred Hartig from hearing felony cases, after his failed attempts to have the Supreme Court suspend her from the bench while a Supreme Court-appointed Master conducts hearings. Meanwhile, wags inside the corridors of the courts say that Hartig has little support in the judiciary, let alone with other officials like Oakland Sheriff Mike Bouchard who has publicly blamed one of Hartig’s decisions on releasing a prisoner for contributing to the death of a law enforcement officer. We are being told that the hope is the stained reputation of the court would be best eliminated with her removal from the bench.

Kirsten Nielson Hartig