On a recent Thursday, the Michigan Supreme Court commanded a judicial misconduct agency to investigate racial disparities in the submission of complaints against judges. The question at hand is whether complaints are disproportionately leveled against judges of color as opposed to their white counterparts. The directive released by the Supreme Court ordered the Judicial Tenure Commission to engage an external auditor to thoroughly examine complaints dating back to 2008, with the aim of discovering any clear biases that place minority judges under increased scrutiny by state misconduct investigators. The court’s administrative order was announced in response to complaints raised by the Association of Black Judges of Michigan.
According to the Association of Black Judges of Michigan, there’s been a notable disparity in public cases. Since 2016, the commission has publicly brought complaints against nine judges, five of whom were black. Despite these alarming statistics, the Commission has previously requested an audit on the matter, stating that their data doesn’t reveal any discernable bias.
This issue raises significant questions about the treatment of judges of color in the judicial system, an area which can often be overlooked in discussions of racial inequality. It represents an essential step in addressing potential systemic issues within the legal profession that could undermine the equal treatment of legal professionals regardless of their racial or ethnic background.
Full information on this case can be found at Bloomberg Law.