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September 14, 2005Tickets may earn Haley censureJudicial Tenure Commission calls for public censureByRecord-Eagle staff writer  In a ruling released Tuesday, the commission dismissed a lack of candor charge against Haley, but found his acceptance of football tickets constituted "misconduct in office" and was conduct "clearly prejudicial to the administration of justice." Haley likely would receive only a public admonishment, if the state Supreme Court approves the censure. Two commissioners - Diane Garrison and Richard Simonson - agreed with the commission's findings but wrote a dissenting opinion over punishment, calling for Haley to be suspended without pay for 30 days. "What is most offending is this whole thing took place on the bench of a courtroom that belongs to the people of the state of Michigan," wrote Garrison and Simonson. "By popular vote the people bestowed on (Haley) the honor of serving them. "They put their confidence and trust in him to render justice fairly to all who come before him. His actions violated that trust," it read. Haley was accused last November of impropriety for accepting a pair of University of Michigan football tickets from attorney and former judge Richard Benedict in October 2003 during a court session in Antrim County. Haley also was charged with lack of candor for denying he sent a letter to Antrim Sheriff Terry Johnson that banned deputy Terry Skurnit from working as a court officer after Skurnit reported the ticket incident. The JTC's decision partially reverses a ruling by retired Judge Casper Grathwohl, who served as special master during Haley's three-day hearing in Antrim County in April. Grathwohl filed a report in May, and ruled Haley's acceptance of the tickets was "inappropriate" but did not constitute judicial conduct. Attorney Brian Einhorn, who represents Haley, said he believes the JTC "retrofitted" the facts to try to accommodate the decision to seek a public censure. "The JTC acknowledged during the hearing that nothing in this exchange was a quid pro quo, that Haley was not in any way influenced by the accepting the tickets," said Einhorn. "They have misstated the relationship between Benedict and Haley in trying to suggest it was a lawyer-judge thing and that they have no (social) relationship." The commission ruling said it was "left with the firm conviction" that Haley's acceptance of the tickets while on the bench "constituted judicial misconduct." But the seven-person majority concluded in its report that although Haley's conduct "significantly harmed the public's perception of the judiciary," it did not warrant a suspension without pay. Haley is the second 86th District Court judge charged by the Judicial Tenure Commission in two years. Former Judge Thomas Gilbert was suspended for six months without pay in September 2003 by the Supreme Court after he admitted smoking marijuana at a rock concert in Detroit in October 2002. The commission's decision - to which Haley has 28 days to respond - will now be handed over to the Supreme Court, which will hold a public hearing to allow both sides to present oral arguments before deciding to either accept or dismiss the commission's recommendation, or set its own punishment for Haley. Einhorn said he and Haley haven't decided whether to object to the public censure, but would present oral arguments to the Supreme Court to "call attention to what the factuals are." "Haley has already been subjected to public censure (in the media), and I think Judge Haley has always acknowledged that the receipt if the tickets looked bad," said Einhorn. "He was taken surprise by it and his reaction should have been to admonish Benedict. "That is the mistake he made, but he wasn't taking these tickets to influence any decision," he said. See Related Stories: Judge: Haley not in violation - May 10, 2005 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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