Judge Violated Rules Of Conduct In Child Custody Case, Commission Says
OAKLAND COUNTY (WWJ/AP) -- In a ruling made Friday, the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission concluded that Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Lisa Gorcyca violated several rules of conduct while handling a case in which she sent three kids to a juvenile facility when they refused to have lunch with their father.
The 35-page ruling by a former judge overseeing the Tenure Commission case said Gorcyca committed misconduct in office.
Read the full report HERE.
"We were both surprised and disappointed with the master's report," Gorcyca's attorney Thomas Cranmer said. "We believe that both the facts and the law support Judge Gorcyca's position and, at this point, we're looking forward to addressing our arguments to the Judicial Tenure Commission itself, and then ultimately to the Michigan Supreme Court if that becomes necessary."
Gorcyca declared the children — ages 9, 10 and 15 — in civil contempt of court during a hearing in June 2015. The children were taken into custody and hauled off to Children's Village after declining to have lunch with their father.
In a formal ethics complaint, filed in December, Gorcyca was accused of failing to respect the law and act in a patient, dignified and courteous manner. In addition, the commission accused the judge of making misrepresentations, or false statements in an earlier letter.
The children's parents, Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni and Omer Tsimhoni, have been involved in a bitter divorce battle for six years. The Bloomfield Hills couple, who married in 1995, have made dozens of court appearances concerning parenting time, therapy, schooling and other issues — but have never reached a common ground.
At the 2015 hearing, Gorcyca told the children that their father has "gone through hoops" to maintain a relationship with them despite his issues with their mother. The judge insisted the children make an effort to talk to their father and Omer Tsimhoni suggested they have lunch together — but the children refused.
"I've never seen anything like this," Gorcyca said during the 2015 hearing. "One day you can watch this video and realize that you two have been brainwashed… This is not normal behavior. No adult in this courtroom, except one, thinks this is normal. Every single adult in this courtroom thinks you have been brainwashed."
The State Supreme Court will decide what disciplinary action will be taken.
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