Oakland County judge removed from docket over derogatory language in leaked recordings
Oakland County Probate Judge Kathleen Ryan. Photo via Oakland County website.
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - An Oakland County judge has been removed from the court docket after recordings of her making racist and homophobic statements were leaked.
Probate Judge Kathleen Ryan's comments were "abhorrent" and "merited her removal from the Probate Court docket pending further investigation," said Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter.
She was removed from the docket on Aug. 27 for unspecified misconduct before media reports of the recordings were published. They included Ryan making anti-gay insults and referring to Black people as lazy.
In a statement from the executive, Coulter said "There is absolutely no place for harassment of any kind or for racist or homophobic language by anyone at Oakland County, especially by someone the public must be confident will act fairly and impartially."
FOX 2 has confirmed the validity of the recordings.
Probate judges in Michigan handle wills and estates, guardianship and cases that involve the state's mental health laws.
Also reacting to Ryan's removal, Detroit and Novi lawmakers that chair the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety and House Committee on Judiciary condemned the remarks.
"Our judges are elected by the people to serve with integrity and honor," read a statement from Sen. Stephanie Chang and Rep. Kelly Breen. "Judge Ryan’s actions are not only harmful and dehumanizing; they have brought dishonor to the position she holds. We are very concerned about the potential impact Judge Ryan’s racist and homophobic beliefs may have had on families in her courtroom as she made decisions that impacted their lives over the course of a decade."
According to the court website, Ryan was elected to the probate court in 2010.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.