Supreme Court ends lawsuit against 'shirtless judge' who had an affair with woman whose child support case he was overseeing Wayne County judge Wade McCree had affair with Geniene La'Shay Mott At time, he was presiding over case of Mott and ex-husband, Robert King After affair was revealed, King accused McCree of violating his civil rights But on Monday, Supreme Court ended lawsuit against the 'shirtless judge' Justices said judges are immune from suits stemming from judicial actions.
The Supreme Court has ended a lawsuit against a disgraced Detroit judge who had an affair with a woman whose child support case he was presiding over, it was revealed on Monday. Former Wayne County judge Wade McCree had a sexual relationship with Geniene La’Shay Mott while he was overseeing the case between her and her ex-husband, Robert King, in 2012. During the affair, the married father-of-two - who once reportedly bragged there was 'no shame' in his 'game' about a shirtless photo he sent to a court deputy - had sex with Mott in his chambers. After the trysts were revealed, McCree was named in a lawsuit by King, who accused the judge of violating his civil rights after he ordered him to wear an electronic tether until he paid child support.
In the lawsuit, King claimed McCree - who had worked at Wayne County Circuit Court since 2004 -had ruled in favor of his ex-wife because of his 'desires for sexual gratifications'. But on Monday, the Supreme Court's justices dismissed the action, stating that judges are immune from lawsuits stemming from their judicial actions. They offered no further comment. The justices' decision followed similar rulings by lower courts, including the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, which also cited existing US law that judges are immune from such suits.
However, in its ruling, the court noted that McCree's actions were 'often reprehensible.' In addition to engaging in sexual intercourse with Mott, McCree reportedly sent her explicit messages from the bench and gave her thousands of dollars, according to the Detroit Free Press. Last March, Michigan Supreme Court removed the judge from office and suspended him for six more years if he is reelected in November after his 20-week affair with Mott was exposed.
Although courts have long prevented judges being sued by litigants, King's attorney Joel Sklar, said in an earlier court case that McCree had used his judicial immunity 'as a shield for self interest.' 'There should be no immunity for what happened here,' said Sklar. However, Brian Einhorn, McCree's attorney, argued that his client's decision to tether King and order him to pay child support was the appropriate one, MyFoxDetroit.com reported. 'In our system, people are going to be unhappy when a judge renders a decision,' he said. 'And if a judge can be sued because the decision they made - in someone’s opinion - was right, wrong or unfair, then our system of justice doesn’t work.'
In 2012, McCree hit the headlines when a shirtless photo of him - which he is said to have sent to a married court deputy in 2010 - made its way into the public domain. When WJBK-TV showed him a printout of the photo, McCree - who quickly became known as 'the shirtless judge' - replied: 'Hot dog. Yep, that's me.' He later added: 'No shame to my game.' According to the newspaper, McCree's father, Wade Hampton McCree, Jr was the first black person appointed to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appleals and the second black solicitor general in the U.S. McCree is believed to still be married to his wife, LaVerne. The couple have two teenage children.
