Former Detroit judge suspended for 6 years for repeated misconduct on bench

The Michigan Supreme Court has suspended a former 36th District Court judge for six years after finding she engaged in a pattern of misconduct on the bench that "besmirched the judiciary's reputation and prejudiced the administration of justice."

Former judge Kahlilia Davis was suspended by the Michigan Supreme Court in June 2020 and has not been on the bench since.

The court determined Davis' misconduct was "pervasive" and included the continued abuse of contempt powers in two different cases; the multiple summary dismissals of cases where a particular process server Davis did not trust was used' the intentional disconnection of recording equipment in her courtroom; and the recording of proceedings in her courtroom on her personal cell phone.

"Misconduct is not viewed in a vacuum," the judges wrote in the order, which was released Friday. "The nature and pervasiveness of respondent's misconduct requires the highest condemnation and harshest sanction. Given respondent is no longer on the bench, we hold that a six-year conditional suspension without pay is an appropriate sanction, with the suspension barring respondent from serving in a judicial office during that period."

Much of her misconduct was done while she was on the bench or in her capacity as a judge, the Supreme Court found. It also impacted and prejudiced the administration of justice and undermined the ability of the justice system to find the truth or reach the most just result in a case. She dismissed claims that potentially had merit, and people were not able to properly appeal decisions because there was no transcript of hearings or recording from which a transcript could have been generated.

"This type of conduct is certainly beyond the pale for a member of our judiciary," the justices wrote.

The Judicial Tenure Commission, which investigates misconduct by judges in Michigan, found in September that Davis was unfit to be a judge.

Her term as judge in Detroit's 36th District Court expired in January 2023, but she did not run for reelection because the Michigan Secretary of State determined she lied on her affidavit of identity and therefore was not eligible. The Supreme Court did not fire Davis because it would be a moot point, the judges said.

The Supreme Court found that Davis:

• Abused her contempt powers in at least two cases, failed to conduct proper contempt hearings, forced people to pay illegal punitive sanctions in civil cases and unlawfully put a process server in jail based on a civil contempt finding.
• Dismissed or adjourned multiple cases because an involved party used a process server that she did not trust. When the chief judge told her to stop, she continued to do it and said, "I don't care what the chief judge or anybody else at this court says. This is my courtroom. And if you have a problem, anybody can take it to the (Judicial Tenure Commission)."
• Obstructed court administration by failing to comply with the performance-improvement plan the chief judge issued and by failing to follow the chief judge's orders. She also sent ominous Bible verses to the chief judge, the court administrator and the regional court administrator that were "insulting, discourteous, disrespectful, and threatening."
• Intentionally disconnected the video recording equipment in her courtroom and failed to maintain a record of hearings in her courtroom for weeks.
• Created unauthorized recordings of hearings in her courtroom on her personal cell phone
• Parked in a handicap loading zone at a gym and put a placard on the window to convey she was there on authority of Detroit police and Mayor Mike Duggan when she did not have the authority to do so, nor was she there on official business. When someone's car was blocked in and they called police, Davis tried to use her status as a judge to avoid a citation.
• Lied about disconnecting the video equipment in her courtroom during interviews with the Judicial Tenure Commission.

This was the second time Davis has been accused of misconduct by the JTC. She was cited in March 2020 for holding court proceedings without hearings being on the record. The new filing was an amendment of the 2020 case, so there was no determination on it.

Davis has been under fire since just after her term began in January 2017. She did not work for the first few months of her term and told WJBK she had an infection after surgery and did not want to put the courthouse at risk, the Associated Press reported in March 2017. Former Chief Judge Nancy Blount removed Davis from her docket in October 2017 because of her "demonstrated inability" to do her job.

Blount also ordered Davis in February 2019 to not bring any weapons to work, required her to go through a security screening before entering the courthouse and banned her from using the judge's door. A month later, Blount banned Davis from hearing cases because she was not using video recording equipment during hearings.

kberg@detroitnews.com