"Shirtless Judge" Wade McCree Removed From Bench, Suspended 6 Years
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A Wayne County judge has lost his job after admitting he had an affair with a woman who had a case in his court.
The Michigan Supreme Court ordered Wade McCree's removal from office Wednesday and further suspended him for six more years if he's re-elected in November.
McCree admitted to carrying on an extramarital affair with the plaintiff in a child support case over which he was presiding.
According to a complaint issued by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission, the McCree sent the woman inappropriate, and sometimes explicit, text message from the bench, and had sex with her in various locations — including inside his Detroit courthouse office.
Despite the affair, McCree didn't immediately excuse himself from the case.
The court said there's a high likelihood of McCree committing misconduct again.
[Read A Summary Of The Opinion]
McCree lawyer Brian Einhorn said he hasn't seen the court's opinion but is disappointed by the result. He blamed his client's behavior on "hypomania," a mental and emotional condition that was disclosed last year during McCree's misconduct hearing.
Justice Michael Cavanagh said he agrees that McCree should be removed from office, but disagrees with the six-year suspension.
McCree made headlines when he was reprimanded, in October, 2012, for sending a semi-nude photo to court employees. He initially told reporters he had "no shame" about his actions, but later apologized.
McCree is the son of the late Wade Hampton McCree, Jr., notable as the first African-American appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the second African-American Solicitor General in the history of the U.S.
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