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May 10, 2005Judge: Haley not in violationCase not closed, commission has final sayByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - A retired judge determined there wasn't enough evidence to prove 86th District Court Judge Michael Haley acted improperly or violated state judicial codes when he accepted football tickets from an attorney while on the bench. In an opinion released Monday, former Judge Casper O. Grathwohl ruled Judicial Tenure Commission Director Paul Fischer had "not carried his burden of proving" Haley violated conduct codes when he accepted a pair of University of Michigan football tickets from former judge Richard Benedict in October 2003. Grathwohl's opinion doesn't close the case; a final determination by the tenure commission could come by fall. "I am pleased, but it isn't over yet" Haley said. "But this is good news. I was encouraged that Judge Grathwohl was able to make the findings he made ... we are tentatively pleased, but we still have a ways to go." Grathwohl presided over a three-day hearing in April, six months after the tenure commission accused Haley of impropriety for accepting tickets during a court session in Antrim County. Grathwohl ruled that although Haley's actions were inappropriate and a display of "poor judgment," it "does not rise to the level of impropriety" or its "appearance." Grathwohl also ruled in favor of Haley in another aspect of the case. The Judicial Tenure Commission accused Haley of lack of candor for denying he sent a letter to Sheriff Terry Johnson that banned deputy Terry Skurnit as a court officer after Skurnit reported the football ticket exchange. Grathwohl called Haley's initial denial of the letter's existence "an oversight." "It has been a struggle from the beginning to put this thing into context," Haley said. "We have been saying all along that when you have an event that occurs in a practically empty courtroom with only a few people all familiar with each other, how credible is it that one individual has decided there is some gross impropriety that is judicial misconduct?" Grathwohl wrote in his report that Skurnit's "animus" toward the judicial system and the 86th District Court "provided the motive" for his complaint. "I think it was clear from the opinion and the statements that he made about the animus the officer had toward the judicial system and myself was clearly part of the reason this ever saw the light of day," Haley said. Grathwohl also admonished Benedict, calling his "indiscreet" act of handing the tickets over to Haley "inexcusable." Fischer would not comment on Grathwohl's ruling. Each side may now file objections to Grathwohl's report, and the commission will hold a July 11 public hearing. At the hearing, both sides can present oral arguments about Grathwohl's report and discuss appropriate sanctions. Haley's attorney, Brian Einhorn, said he does not expect to file motions other than responses to objections Fischer might raise before the July 11 hearing. "Maybe (the commission) will just accept what happened and agree they had a fair and open hearing and be able to say to the public that we saw it, brought attention to it, had a hearing and accept it," he said. "That would be nice." See Related Stories: Judge Haley calls deputy 'sociopath' - April 8, 2005 Judge Haley defends ticket event - April 7, 2005 Judge Haley's hearing set for April - January 26, 2005 Judge Haley: I did nothing inappropriate - December 16, 2004
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