Hearing set for district judge accused of misconduct

Detroit – — A disciplinary hearing has been scheduled for 36th District Court Judge Brenda Sanders on accusations of judicial misconduct.

The hearing, which will be conducted by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission, is set for Dec. 8 in Oakland Circuit Court and will be presided over by retired Wayne Circuit Court Judge Michael Sapala.

Sanders is accused of having a "mental disability which prevents the performance of judicial duties as defined by the Michigan Constitution" according to a complaint filed against her by the commission. Sanders suffers from "psychotic delusions" and also has fraudulently received a longtime medical leave from her $138,000-a-year position, the commission alleges.

In a 14-page complaint filed last month, the commission says Sanders' "mental disability prevents the performance of judicial duties as defined by the Michigan Constitution."

The commission said Sanders missed five appointments with a psychiatrist set up by the commission and to which Sanders had agreed.

According to the commission's complaint, Sanders sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade in December 2013 requesting a federal investigation, saying she (Sanders) was the target of corruption and a conspiracy in an attempt to remove her from the 36th District Court bench before she was sworn in as a judge in December 2008.

Sanders also wrote that two judges have "suddenly died under suspicious circumstances" in the past two years and "judges have been murdered because they spoke out against some of the wrongs that were being committed 'in this court.'"

bwilliams@detnews.com

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