Alleged Racism, Gay Slurs Get Michigan Judge Suspended

A Michigan judge has been suspended after allegedly making racist, anti-gay remarks on phone calls that were recorded without her knowledge. The state allows such recordings to be made as long as one of the two people on the call gives consent; in this case, that person was Oakland County Probate Court Administrator Edward Hutton, who tells WXYZ that Oakland County Probate Judge Kathleen Ryan has been harassing him, and calling him during both work and non-work hours, for years. During those calls, Hutton tells the Detroit Free Press, Ryan has made numerous troubling remarks, including anti-gay comments about Oakland County Executive David Coulter, who is gay. Hutton says she also has used anti-gay slurs, including the f-word, to refer to other elected officials.

The recordings also allegedly capture Ryan making racist remarks, including, "If you're an American Black person then you're a f------ lazy piece of s---." At one point she can allegedly be heard saying, "I can honestly say that, OK, I'm not systemically racist—I'm a new racist. I never was. But now I am because you're shoving this s--- down my throat making allegations that you don't know s---- about." After Hutton sent the recordings to Coulter and other officials, Ryan was removed from her docket pending an investigation. Her lawyers vow to "vindicate" her. (More Michigan stories.)