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LANSING, MICH---The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered that District Court Judge David Bradfield be suspended indefinitely without pay and undergo a psychiatric exam to determine if he is fit to remain on the bench.
In December, the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission had recommended that the Supreme Court sanction 36th District Judge Bradfield, based on his outbursts of anger on two occasions in 2005 and 2002, and his past discipline by the Supreme court for similar behavior.
The commission recommended that the court suspend Bradfield from his judicial duties for one year without pay and require him to complete intensive psychological treatment to control his anger http://jtc.courts.mi.gov/downloads/fc79.decisionandrecommendation.pdf
Bradfield, 59, of Detroit, a judge since 1987, had contested the determination and appealed to the Supreme Court.
The psychiatric report must be submitted to the commission by June 30. Bradfield when then have until July 31 to comment on the findings. The Supreme Court has scheduled arguments in the case for October when it will make its final decision regarding Bradfield’s judicial future.
The judge had been accused of violating the state judicial code by swearing at Detroit Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams when he parked in a spot reserved for judges. The commission investigator, a retired judge, found that Bradfield had challenged Adams to a fight. Adams said he was entering the courthouse when Bradfield “got out of his car and ran and grabbed me and yanked me out of the door”. He said Bradfield poked him at least five times in the charge while unleashing a “barrage of profanity” and pushing him.
"I'm certain the exam will show that he's more than capable of doing the job and that he's fit to serve in office," said Bradfield's attorney, Brian Einhorn.
Bradfield had been investigated last year. Adams’s wife is a judge with the court and he had obtained permission from the chief judge to park in the judicial lot while picking up his wife.
It was also determined that Bradfield had engaged in misconduct in October 2002 during an encounter with a parking attendant, becoming hostile when the attendant told him he would not be allowed to park in a new garage across the street from the courthouse for a few more days.
In 1993, Bradfield had a confrontation with a 17-year-old motorist over a parking spot at the Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn. After a security guard intervened in the dispute, Bradfield allegedly sped up and drove into the parking spot, striking the teen who was treated for leg injuries. Bradfield pleaded guilty to careless driving.
Bradfield was also cited for judicial conduct by the commission in 2000 and censured for “failing to be patient, dignified and courteous to litigants, lawyers and others with whom he deals”. In 2002, he was suspended for 30 days and ordered to undergo counseling following a 1999 incident in which he screamed at a man who was protesting a ticket for not presenting a driver’s license to the police. When the man tried to explain that the ticket belonged to his nephew who had the same name as him, Bradfield yelled at him and refused to allow him to submit evidence. 4-22-06
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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