Two Judges In Hot Water With Tenure Commission Over Drunk Driving Incidents

YPSILANTI (WWJ/AP) - Two District Court judges in Ypsilanti face discipline by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission because of separate incidents involving drunk driving.

It's been recommended that Judge Kirk Tabbey, who has been on the bench since 1997, be suspended for 90 days without pay after he was arrested for drunk driving while on vacation.

According to court documents, Tabbey was towing a boat and trailer out of the water at a public launch in Antrim County on Sept. 17 when the incident occurred. He allegedly had a blood alcohol content of .17, more than twice the legal limit.

Tabbey was originally charged with operating a motor vehicle with a high blood alcohol content. He pleaded guilty Oct. 16 to a reduced charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

In a separate case, Judge J. Cedric Simpson, who has sat on the bench for 15 years, has been accused of interfering with a drunk driving investigation involving his intern.

Simpson is accused of hampering a police investigation when his intern and law student, Crystal Vargas, crashed into a truck on Sept. 8, 2013. He's accused of going to the scene in Pittsfield Township and interfering with a sobriety test.

According to court documents, Vargas called Simpson on her cell phone immediately after the accident. When Simpson arrived on the scene, he allegedly interrupted an officer administrating a field sobriety test to Vargas. After talking to the officer, Simpson then allegedly began questioning Vargas about the accident. Court documents show that the officer interrupted the conversation by resuming Vargas' sobriety tests -- including a preliminary breath test that showed her blood alcohol content to be at .137.

Documents show that Simpson also took Vargas, who was a student in at least one of his classes at Cooley Law School, to the impound lot to retrieve her vehicle about four hours later when she was released. When her credit card was declined, Simpson apparently used his credit card to pay the towing fees.

On Sept. 10, Simpson allegedly contacted Pittsfield Township City Attorney Victor Lillich, saying he wanted to "help" Vargas.  He also apparently requested a copy of all warrant request documents submitted in the case.

Documents show a warrant request was submitted on Sept. 13. When charges in the case still hadn't been filed by Oct. 17, Pittsfield Township Police Chief Matthew Harshberger became suspicious. He contacted Lillich, who allegedly told him he had been "holding" the warrant to discuss issues raised by Simpson. On Oct. 20, the warrant was finally signed.

Vargas was charged on Oct. 31 with operating a motor vehicle while impaired. On Jan. 8, 2014, she pleaded guilty to the charge.

Simpson has denied having a personal relationship with Vargas, although the commission says the two exchanged roughly 10,000 text messages and phone calls between Aug. 1 and Nov. 30, 2013.

Click here to see the complaint against Simpson (.pdf format)

The Michigan Supreme Court will decide whether Simpson will face a formal hearing.

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