Panel To Decide Fate Of 'Shirtless Judge' Wade McCree
DETROIT (WWJ) - He admits to having an intimate relationship with a woman who appeared before him in a child support case.
Arguments were heard Monday against 56-year-old Judge Wade McCree who made headlines last year after sending a semi-nude photo to a court staffer and telling a reporter: "No shame in my game."
Attorney Paul Fisher argued that McCree is a narcissist and egomaniac who should absolutely be removed from the bench.
"He claims that he suffers from some type of a medical condition that can be treated with medication — although he offered no medical testimony on it," Fisher said.
"Egoism and narcissism cannot justify his behavior. He knew what he was doing all along. He knew what he was doing when he lied to Judge Nelson," Fisher said. "There's only one remedy to what's transpired here — and I ask the court that he be removed from office."
According to a complaint, Genine Le'Shay Mott, who reportedly came to McCree's courtroom seeking child support, had sex with McCree at various locations, including McCree's judicial chambers.
Text messages documented in the report are sometimes explicit. In once message, sent to Mott on June of last year, McCree states, "Oh yeah, I text from the bench. After last nite, its all I can do not 2 **** off 'under' the bench:-)."
- View a copy of the complaint – NOTE: This document is unedited and does contain some potentially offensive content -
Messages from McCree to Mott often included derogatory references to defendants, litigants or witnessed appearing before him. In one message, McCree writes, "C'mon, U'r talking about the 'docket from hell', filled w/tatted up, overweight, half-ass English speaking, gap tooth skank hoes … and then you walk in." [More HERE]
WWJ's Marie Osborne reported McCree sat silently throughout Monday's proceedings, only nodding when his attorney, Brian Einhorn, talked about how difficult all of this has been for McCree's wife and children.
Einhorn said his client is a good guy who admits that he did the wrong thing. He said McCree should not be removed from the bench, but should only be suspended for four to six months without pay.
A Judicial Tenure Commission panel will decide McCree's fate in the coming weeks, issuing a written ruling,
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 U.S. history.
