Suspended Inkster judge defends spending from court fund

Dearborn Heights— Suspended 22nd District Judge Sylvia James testified Friday that she was justified in spending thousands from an alternative sentencing program to pay for landscaping, catering, cheerleader uniforms, photography services and contributions to local social organizations and charities.

James said at her state Judicial Tenure Commission hearing, where she faces charges of ethics violations, that her interpretation of the court's community service program was greater than simply using fees paid by convicts to fund menial labor such as mowing grass and shoveling sidewalks.

James said the program was designed to support residents and organizations in her community.

She took control of the account that generated upwards of $50,000 per year in 2005 after a dispute with the city over paying the court's bills. But checks presented to James through more than a dozen, often tedious hours in the witness stand since Wednesday weren't for program expenses like lawn mower gasoline or ice-melting salt.

The purchases included leather-bound journals given as gifts to members of Inkster's Tax Increment Finance Authority after the group decided to include spaces for new court facilities in construction of a new municipal public service facility.

James said spending thousands from the fund every year to support her court's annual Law Day for Inkster High School students — including a $100 essay-writing prize — was merely her continuation of spending routinely approved by the city dating to the 1990s.

"One of the purposes of the community service program was to fund Law Day," James said.

She objected to the examiner's use of the words "contribution" or "donation" to describe thousands of dollars she gave to local organizations like the Goodfellows, scholarships, and activities like her sister's 40th Inkster High School class reunion.

James said they were payments for advertising of the court and its community service program. That included money given to the local chapter of her college sorority.

Copies of program advertisements, prominently featuring the judge's name and photo, and mentioning the community service program, have been presented in the hearing.

James said money was given to several churches and religiously affiliated counseling organization because they provided projects for convicts to perform.

She said money for the Inkster Police Auxiliary picnic was a show of support for the group that provided security at the court, above and beyond the security paid for by the city.

James explained that her annual support of the Inkster Memorial Day Parade and a float advertising the court that was pulled by the community service program van were a show of support for the event that used convicts to clean up the parade route.

The fund also paid for red polo shirts worn by court workers in the parade that were embroidered with the judge's name.

The Tenure Commission filed charges in October claiming her use of the fund violates court rules and ethics for judges. The state Supreme Court in April suspended James with pay, and ordered the investigation that led to charges. James hasn't been charged with a crime, but faces possible removal from the elected post she has held for more than two decades.

James and her lawyers had noted that only one side of the dispute had been heard since the hearing began Monday, with the prosecution dominating proceedings. During three days of questioning by Tenure Commission examiners, James was frustrated on the witness stand by being unable to expand her answers to explain her actions and the actions of others.

Ann Mattson, a retired Washtenaw County judge appointed by the state Supreme Court as special master to oversee the hearings, has on several occasions warned James to answer only the questions asked without adding opinions or other information.

James was expected to expand her answers and explanations about why things happened after the prosecution finished its questioning Friday and her lawyers began cross-examination. Questioning from her own lawyers also is expected to take days.

"It appears to me there are a number of issues to cross-examine Judge James on," Mattson said. "I expect to see Judge James next week."

dguthrie@detnews.com

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