A Michigan judge will not be returning to the bench after she was caught on audio recordings spewing incendiary and racist rhetoric.
Oakland County Probate Judge Kathleen Ryan will be voluntarily retiring from her role, according to WXYZ.
The news outlet was the first to publish a set of audio recordings taken by a court administrator in which Ryan is heard labeling herself a “new racist,” calling Black Americans “lazy pieces of s–t,” and making homophobic statements.
In another recording, Ryan is heard boasting that her position and connections shield her from disciplinary action.
“I hate to say it, knock on wood. I really kind of am untouchable. … They can’t touch me. … They can’t touch my salary. They can’t touch my job. All they can do is have somebody run against me. Good luck!” Ryan is heard saying in one recording.
Ryan was removed from the docket in September 2024, but has been on paid leave for the last 15 months.
The probate court’s former chief judge filed a complaint with Michigan’s Judicial Tenure Commission, which is charged with investigating judicial misconduct or incapacity and maintaining public confidence in the courts. However, the commission never investigated the matter or took any disciplinary measures.
Edward Hutton, the court administrator who worked alongside Ryan, taped the judge for years during long work calls when she began sharing inflammatory and inappropriate things. He said he filed complaints through the years, but they were never followed up on.
“Nobody with that much hate in their heart for certain people — not just individuals, but groups of people — I don’t believe that they could possibly make fair, unbiased decisions regarding them,” Hutton told WXYZ.
Ryan’s attorneys confirmed that the Judicial Tenure Commission decided not to take action in the case and that the decision to retire was her own.
A judicial vacancy was also posted for the Oakland County Probate Court, which notifies applicants that Ryan is the “vacating judge.”
As a probate judge, she was tasked with making decisions overseeing the court proceedings for handling estates, trusts, wills, guardianships, and conservatorships.
