An Oakland County judge has been removed from the court docket after recordings of her making racist and homophobic statements were leaked.
Judge Kathleen Ryan of Oakland County, Michigan has been removed from the bench for racist comments caught on tape. They included Ryan making anti-gay insults and referring to Black people as lazy.
According to WXYZ, a high-ranking probate court official, Edward Hutton, came forward and said he’s been recording Judge Ryan’s statements for years.
The recordings are now connected to a state judicial misconduct investigation into Ryan, Coulter spokesman Bill Mullan said Thursday. Ryan, who was removed from her docket on Aug. 27, will remain on leave by order of the chief Oakland County Probate Court judge pending the outcome of a Judicial Tenure Commission investigation
Hutton explained that he recorded the audio of the judge and filed a sexual harassment complaint against Ryan in May. He also mentioned that he sent the recordings to Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement, Coulter, and other public officials on Aug. 22. This was after he had previously sent a notice of sexual harassment to Oakland County Chief Probate Judge Linda Hallmark, but no action was taken.
Ryan has been on the bench in Oakland County since 2010. She ran unopposed in 2022 and is next up for election in 2028.
