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08/01/2006Ticket incident draws censure
Haley
TRAVERSE CITY — The Michigan Supreme Court unanimously agreed to publicly censure 86th District Court Judge Michael Haley for accepting $92 worth of University of Michigan football tickets from an attorney during a court session. In an opinion published Monday evening the court said it agreed with a Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission finding that Haley's "misconduct significantly harmed the public's perception of the judiciary and that this ethical lapse warranted a public censure." Haley was spared a suspension, though Justice Elizabeth Weaver, of Glen Arbor, believed a 30-day suspension was warranted. Haley said prior to the opinion that regardless of the outcome he didn't feel at liberty to comment on a state Supreme Court ruling. "Whether the decision is good, bad, or indifferent for me, it's like passing a kidney stone," Haley said. "I'm just glad it's over with." Justices bickered over the Haley case, despite their unanimous agreement that he deserved public censure. Weaver, an increasingly vocal critic of fellow justices Robert Young, Jr., Clifford Taylor, Maura Corrigan and Stephen Markman, admonished those four for disciplining Haley on only one of the nine violations cited by Judicial Tenure Commission. "Unprecedented and incorrect is the majority's holding that consideration of only the one most specific violation of judicial duty is appropriate in determining the discipline to be imposed," she wrote. Weaver said she didn't contend that Haley accepted or was offered a "bribe", and also commended Haley's work to establish a community drug court in the region. But Weaver criticized him for his courtroom conduct. "But what occurred on the bench was wrong and unworthy of both Judge Haley and retired Judge, now practicing attorney, Richard Benedict," Weaver wrote. "Judge Haley's actions in accepting the tickets on the bench, during a criminal hearing in which Mr. Benedict was representing the defendant, created an appearance of impropriety that deeply damaged the judicial system. "... It should be remembered by both judges and attorneys that informality, familiarity, acts of personal friendship, and 'Good Ole Boy' activity have no place in a court hearing." Haley accepted the tickets from Benedict before Haley passed sentence on a Benedict client during a court hearing in Antrim County in October 2003. The Judicial Tenure Commission started an investigation in 2004, followed by two hearings in 2005 that resulted in the recommendation to the Supreme Court to censure Haley. Young, Jr., Taylor, Corrigan and Markman agreed that Haley violated a canon of the Code of Judicial Conduct that prohibits acceptance of gifts. "While (Haley) was clearly not accepting a bribe, his actions were an inappropriate lapse of ethical judgment, and his casual acceptance of the football tickets reflected poorly on the court — an institution that the people of this state must be able to hold in the highest regard," wrote Young for the majority. Justices Marilyn Kelly and Michael Cavanagh said Haley's acceptance of the gifts was not a violation because it fell under an exemption for "ordinary social hospitality" but said it created the appearance of impropriety and agreed with the punishment of public censure. "A judge must scrupulously observe the canons of judicial ethics when accepting gifts, and under no circumstances should a judge accept a gift while on the bench adjudicating a proceeding," Kelly wrote. In his arguments presented to the Supreme Court Haley said the Judicial Tenure Commission "erroneously concluded" he was guilty of misconduct and that public censure is "unduly harsh and disproportionate" punishment. Haley's ongoing legal and public relations bills topped $87,000 in January and were covered through a taxpayer funded insurance policy, including direct payment by the counties of Grand Traverse , Leelanau, and Antrim of a $75,000 deductible. See related stories:
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