Complaint Filed Against Oakland County Judge

TROY, MI — An Oakland County judge, who was removed from criminal cases last month, is now accused of misconduct, according to a public complaint from the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission.

The complaint says Troy's 52-4 District Court Judge Kirsten Hartig withheld the results of her mental health examination from the commission for months, improperly dismissed cases and mistreated court employees.

While investigating Hartig for other allegations of misconduct in her capacity as a judge in April 2024, the commission ordered her to undergo a psychological evaluation at a facility called All Points North at the commission's expense, according to the complaint.

Hartig took the evaluation in May 2024, but refused to provide a copy of the report to the commission until December, according to the complaint.

Information about the mental health exam was redacted from the complaint.

The complaint also accuses Hartig of improperly dismissing cases due to scheduling conflicts.

In one instance during the pandemic, prosecutors asked Hartig to adjourn a preliminary examination because one of their witnesses had tested positive for COVID-19 and wouldn’t be available. She refused to do so and ended up wrongly dismissing the case, according to the complaint.

In early 2022, Hartig dismissed a case after she rescheduled a court date to a day that prosecutors told her they couldn't make, according to the complaint.

When prosecutors didn't appear in court, Hartig dismissed the cases, a move the commission argues she had no authority to do and that it was not done in good faith.

"The circumstances under which respondent dismissed (the cases) demonstrated that she was dismissing to punish the prosecution rather than on the merits of the case," the commission wrote.

In addition to withholding her mental health exam results and wrongly dismissing cases, the complaint also says Hartig mistreated court employees.

At one time, the commission says Hartig berated the probation officer and court administrator while on the bench. She falsely accused them of financial mismanagement of drug court funds, according to the complaint.

The commission said Hartig also berated the employees for not responding to emails while they were off and that they were taking too much time off. She told one employee that they had to be in contact with her every day, including when she was off, unless she was "unconscious," according to the complaint.

Daniel Cherrin, a spokesperson for Hartig, told local news outlets that the complaint is "based on disputed claims and a flawed process."

"The public deserves confidence in both the judiciary and its oversight," Cherrin said in a statement. "That confidence depends on transparency grounded in fact, not fiction."

Hartig has been on the court since 2011. She was removed from criminal cases on May 27 while the complaint process plays out. She was still on the bench for civil, landlord/tenant and small claims cases.