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Judge not hearing cases after allegedly calling herself ‘a new racist’ in secret recordings

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 10, 2024, 12:52 pm CDT

A probate judge in Michigan was removed from her docket following the release of recordings in which she allegedly called herself “a new racist,” made derogatory remarks about Black people and used a gay slur.

Judge Kathleen Ryan of Oakland County, Michigan, was removed from hearing cases Aug. 27 after Edward Hutton, the Oakland County Probate Court administrator who is a lawyer, released the recordings to public officials and WXYZ. He said he has been recording Ryan for years.

WXYZ broke the story, followed by articles in the Guardian, Above the Law, the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News.

Hutton said he released the recordings in August because he heard nothing after sending a sexual harassment notice involving Ryan to Oakland County’s chief judge in May.

Besides making derogatory comments, Ryan also described sexual encounters “in intimate detail,” Hutton alleged in an interview with WXYZ. He said he didn’t speak up for years because he didn’t want to lose his job and didn’t want to be in the judge’s “crosshairs.”

Ryan was removed from her docket pending further investigation. The allegations have also been sent to the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission.

Among Ryan’s alleged comments:

  • “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. You’re telling me who I am, and you’ve never f- – -ing met me. F- – – you!”

  • “If you’re a Black from any other country, you’re doing way better. If you’re an American Black person, then you’re a f- – -ing lazy piece of s- – -.”

  • An elected official is a “little f- – – – -” (a gay slur) and is “a skinny white girl.”

Hutton told WXYZ that he hasn’t filed a lawsuit, and he is not “looking for a payday. I want to keep my job and do it in peace. And I want the people in Oakland County that come to court to get a fair shake, to have their day in court, to have an unbiased trier of fact.”

Gerald Gleeson and Thomas Cranmer, Ryan’s lawyers, told WXYZ that they “look forward to vindicating Judge Ryan in the appropriate forum.”

Oakland County Probate Judge Daniel O’Brien told WXYZ that the alleged statements are totally out of character for Ryan, and her friends are supporting her. She has been a probate judge since 2010.