LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad has sent a letter to the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission and Michigan Supreme Court urging the expedited removal of Judge Kirsten Nielsen Hartig from the 52-4 District Court in Oakland County.
“It is clear from reports that Judge Hartig has displayed a pattern of despicable public behavior unbecoming of the honorable office she holds,” said Runestad, R-White Lake, who serves as minority vice chair on the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety. “The integrity of our justice system demands the commission complete its investigation without delay and the Supreme Court remove her from the bench immediately.”
It has been reported that the commission opened a public misconduct investigation against Hartig after failing for months to produce a report on a psychological exam she underwent and allegations of bullying court staff and creating “a climate of fear.” The allegations include improperly dismissing felony cases with prejudice “to punish prosecutors amid a scheduling dispute” so the cases can’t be brought again and making a pregnant probation officer display her stomach to Zoom participants, among other complaints.
“Members of our state’s judicial branch should be held to the highest standard of professional conduct. Given the actions committed by Judge Hartig, it is clear to me that she has not only violated public trust, but also Canons 1, 2 and 3 of the Michigan Code of Judicial Conduct,” Runestad wrote in his letter.
“Trust in our judges and the judicial system is a cornerstone of our republic, and the behavior of Judge Hartig and others like her erodes this system and denigrates our state and nation.”
