The chief judge of the 36th District Court said Friday she'll rule within a week whether to disqualify all 36th District judges from the landmark perjury and obstruction of justice case of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his ex-chief of staff, Christine Beatty.
After a short hearing, Chief Judge Marylin Atkins took the question under advisement. Prosecutors, who want the whole 36th District panel removed from the case, appealed to Atkins just minutes after one of the court's judges, Ronald Giles, ruled that he had no conflict of interest in the case and declined to remove himself from any role in it.
Giles said his connections to Kilpatrick -- a small campaign contribution; and ties between his wife and the city school board -- were "inconsequential."
"I have heard no reason whatsoever to recuse myself in this case," Giles said.
Kilpatrick and Beatty, attended today's hearings.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy wants the court to assign an outside judge to preside over the preliminary examinations of Kilpatrick and Beatty, in part because two judges on the bench may be witnesses in the felony trial.
Attorneys for the two have said Worthy's request amounts to shopping for a suburban -- and Beatty's attorneys say white -- judge.
Judge Ruth Carter, the city's former corporation counsel, is listed as a witness in the case. Judge Esther "Lynise" Bryant-Weekes, the former director of personnel for the Detroit Police, also may be a witness.
A district court judge will preside over a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 9 to determine if there is enough evidence to prompt a trial on a total of 12 perjury and misconduct counts for Kilpatrick and Beatty. If so, the case would then move to Wayne County Circuit Court.
Kilpatrick has been charged with eight felonies and Beatty with seven. They include perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office stemming from a police whistle-blower and text-message scandal. The crimes carry maximum prison terms of five to 15 years.
The text messages were revealed in the aftermath of the whistle-blower trial in which a jury agreed that two officers were wrongly disciplined. After first vowing to appeal, the mayor's attorneys agreed to settle the case for $8.4 million once the officers' attorney told them he had the text messages, which appear to strongly contradict Kilpatrick and Beatty's testimony.
POST COMMENTS BELOW:
DETNews.com
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/METRO/804180436/1410
