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January 22, 2006Taxpayers foot bill for judge's defenseMore than $75,000 spent during probeTRAVERSE CITY - Taxpayers spent more than $75,000 to defend 86th District Judge Michael Haley from a probe sparked when he accepted a pair of college football tickets from an attorney during a court session.Haley's ongoing legal and public relations bills top $87,000 and are covered through an insurance policy, though taxpayers are on the hook for the initial $75,000, Grand Traverse County Administrator Dennis Aloia. The Michigan Supreme Court is expected to announce a decision soon on whether Haley will be reprimanded for accepting $94 worth of University of Michigan football tickets from local attorney Richard Benedict during a district court hearing in Antrim County in October 2003. The state Judicial Tenure Commission in November 2004 accused Haley of impropriety. Aloia said a Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority policy covers JTC legal fees up to $100,000, but taxpayers are on the hook for the bulk of it because the local three-county district is self-insured. "The first $75,000 of any claim we get, whether it is automobile (claims) or others, it is paid out of our own self-insured pool," he said. "Anything after that, and in this case up to $100,000, is paid by the policy." Haley, who draws an annual salary of $138,272, requested to be covered by a policy funded by taxpayers in Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Antrim counties. "When Judge Haley requested coverage we were told (by MMRMA) there was no choice," said Aloia. "When you put a policy in place for employees and offer certain coverage and protection you must avail it to the employees." Haley said the county "agreed" to provide coverage for judges and a magistrate. "The judges and the magistrate are beneficiaries of this, so whenever one of them is placed in a situation where they come under the terms of the policy, the policy provides the coverage," Haley said. "That is simply what happened. Other than that, I don't have any comment." The bulk of submitted invoice requests are from Haley attorney Brian Einhorn and his Detroit firm, according to documents obtained by the Record-Eagle. Haley also submitted a bill dated Jan. 6, 2005, for $687.50 from the Intelligence Agency, a Traverse City public relations firm. Intelligence Agency owner Luke Haase said his work for Haley was done on behalf of Traverse City attorney Mike Dettmer, who initially represented Haley against JTC charges. "We were engaged by Judge Haley's attorney Mike Dettmer to advise on communication matters, briefly," said Haase. Haase refused to disclose specifics of his work for Dettmer and Haley, which he said spanned "less than 10 days." The Judicial Tenure Commission also charged Haley 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. A retired judge ruled in May that Haley's actions were "inappropriate" but did not constitute judicial misconduct, a ruling reversed in part by the JTC, which called for a public censure for Haley. Haley was the second 86th District Court judge charged by the Judicial Tenure Commission in two years. The state Supreme Court suspended former Judge Thomas Gilbert for six months without pay in September 2003 after he admitted smoking marijuana at a rock concert in Detroit in October 2002. Aloia said Gilbert never sought reimbursement for legal costs. The policy may have excluded him, anyway. "Judge Gilbert never requested coverage from the county and, secondly, in the policy one of the exclusions is that a criminal act admitted or not contested is excluded," he said. See Related Stories: Haley says public censure is 'harsh' - October 12, 2005 Tickets may earn Haley censure - September 14, 2005 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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