A high-ranking Michigan probate judge from Oakland County was removed from the docket after a submitted recorded audio caught her making racist and derogatory remarks.
The former judge, Kathleen Ryan, who spent 13 years making life-altering decisions for families and those struggling with disabilities, made news headlines again after her previous charges of domestic assault from 2021 were dropped.
However, on August 27, Chief Probate Judge Linda Hallmark removed Ryan from the bench, announcing that “a complaint regarding internal allegations of unprofessional conduct” was sent to the state's Judicial Tenure Commission.
According to WXYZ, Oakland County Probate Court Administrator Edward Hutton came forward and revealed he had been recording Ryan's racist statements for years.
However, he maintained his actions were not about him but out of concern for protecting citizens who faced Ryan in the courtroom.
In one of the presented recordings, Ryan made the following comments:
“From England, if you’re a Black from any other country – you’re doing way better."
“If you’re an American Black person, you’re a f'king lazy piece of sh*t.”
Here is a news report.
Hutton, who as an Oakland County Probate Court Administrator oversees everything outside of the judges’ purview, said Ryan would call him during and after work hours for years.
It was during these hours-long phone calls that Ryan allegedly made highly inappropriate remarks.
He said of the former judge:
“She's made it a living hell in the past six years. I mean, it's been terrible."
“It's cost me relationships. I think it's affected my health. Can't sleep.”
When WXYZ asked Hutton what prompted him to start recording her rants, the attorney said:
“I just felt like it wasn't going to change. Nothing's manipulated and it's conversations that I was a part of."
He continued:
"It's something that I anticipate at some point I'll probably have to testify to under oath, and I'm absolutely willing to testify to the authenticity of every single one of them [the recordings].”
In another recording Hutton claimed was of Ryan's voice, the judge said:
“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 sh*t down my throat making allegations that you don’t know sh*t about."
"You’re telling me who I am and you’ve never even f'king met me. F'k you!”
Ryan was also caught making homophobic comments aimed at an elected official, using the gay slur "f**got."
Hutton also said Ryan made unsolicited comments regarding her love life.
“A lot of times they were conversations about sexual encounters that she's having with various individuals, I mean, in intimate detail," he recalled.
Hutton told the news outlet he felt like he had to play along and was apprehensive about speaking up due to his vulnerable position.
“I didn't want to lose my job and I didn't want to be in her crosshairs,” he explained. “It's such a David and Goliath situation. I don't have the power. I'm not elected. I could get fired tomorrow.”
Hutton decided to send Chief Judge Linda Hallmark a notice of sexual harassment on May 24.
When no actions were taken for three months, Hutton sent the recordings of Ryan's comments to the Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, Oakland County Executive David Coulter, and other public officials.
Hutton said he was motivated to "make it right," adding:
"I haven't filed a lawsuit. I'm 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.”
In the email sent to the state and county leaders, Hutton noted that Ryan “has vocalized her hate and contempt for various protected groups… I have attached recordings of statements made by Judge Kathleen A. Ryan that make her hate and bias plainly evident."
"I don’t want to lose my job, I just want to do the right thing,” he wrote.
Ryan was removed from her docket after the recordings were heard by state and county officials.
Coulter wrote in a statement:
“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."
"The alleged conduct and abhorrent comments made by Judge Ryan merited her removal from the Probate Court docket pending further investigation."
"I have confidence that the agencies reviewing this matter will treat it with the seriousness it deserves and will take further action if warranted."
Hutton believes Ryan should be permanently banned from the courtroom, saying:
“Nobody with that much hate in their heart for certain people — not just individuals, but groups of people. I don't believe that they could possibly make fair, unbiased decisions regarding them."
In a statement issued last week, Oakland County Chief Probate Judge Linda Hallmark said the Judicial Tenure Commission "will decide whether to investigate [the allegations] further.”
Here is the full report from WXYZ.
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