In In re Simpson, No. 150404, the Michigan Supreme Court reviewed the determination and recommendation of the Judicial Tenure Commission ("JTC") that District Court Judge Cedric Simpson be removed from office for interfering with the police investigation and subsequent prosecution of his judicial intern for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and for making misrepresentations in the course of the JTC investigation with respect to contact with the intern on the morning of the accident and with respect to the purpose of extensive communications with the intern. In its de novo review, the majority of the Court held that the interference claims, and the misrepresentation claim regarding the purpose of the communications were supported by a preponderance of the evidence. The majority then analyzed the sanction for those violations in light of precedent and concluded that a nine month suspension was proportional to the violations that had been established. In a partial dissent, Justices Markman and Zahra contend that, in setting the sanction, the Court should have also considered other misconduct (misrepresentations under oath) that were established by the record by not asserted by JTC.
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