Judge Lisa Gorcyca
Oakland County Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca generated national headlines when she sent three young children to juvenile lockup in June 2015 for disobeying her orders to visit with their father in a bitter custody and divorce case.
The Judicial Tenure Commission found her behavior on the bench unacceptable and has recommended a 30 day suspension without pay, plus a $12,553 fine.
On Wednesday, the state Supreme Court, which makes the ultimate decision on the matter, grilled attorneys for Gorcyca and the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission. The case involves Omer Tsimhoni and his ex-wife, Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni.
John Wisely of the Detroit Free Press reports:
Gorcyca's attorney, Thomas Cranmer, asked the court to dismiss the charges, saying her actions were a one-time occurrence, borne of years of frustration with the case, that didn't amount to misconduct.
"Everything that she did in this case ... with the exception of the hearing on the 24th ... indicates her good faith and due diligence," her lawyer, Thomas Cranmer told the state's highest court Wednesday.
Lynn Helland, executive director of the Tenure Commission, disagreed.
"It is a referendum on whether Michigan permits its angry judges to insult, berate and ridicule children and demonstrate a loss of impartiality and with the barest of nods to due process, find a child in contempt of an order that didn't exist," Helland said.
A decision by the justices will be forthcoming.
