The Michigan Supreme Court has dismissed a misconduct complaint against Wayne County District Court Judge Paul Cusick, thereby closing the investigation against him.
The Judicial Tenure Commission publicly accused Cusick in November 2022 of withholding evidence from the defense in a marijuana case he was involved in as an assistant attorney general between 2014 and 2016, as well as “inciting” perjury in the case. Incitement means allowing or inducing someone to commit perjury. The JTC dismissed her complaint in February.
Cusick was charged with violating the standards of the bar, bringing the legal profession or the courts into contempt or criticism, and taking action contrary to Michigan State Court Rules requiring “justice, ethics, honesty or good morals.”
The special counsel who reviewed the complaint found in September 2023 that there was no credible evidence to support the allegations against him.
Cusick and JTC CEO Lynn Helland did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Former Ingham County Judge and Prosecutor Peter Houk, who served as special prosecutor in the case, found Cusick’s testimony in the case “very credible.” He found the JTC’s charges “incomprehensible” and “simply without credible basis.”
Cusick’s lawyers, Donald Campbell, James Hunter and Erin Rodenhouse, wrote in a response to the complaint that it was “based on a misrepresentation from the beginning.”
“The disciplinary officer’s lawsuit against Cusick failed because it was based on a gross misunderstanding of the law and failed to objectively investigate the case before bringing it to trial,” the lawyers wrote.
Two other complaints against Metro Detroit judges are pending at the JTC. Both Demetria Brue, a judge in Detroit’s 36th District Court, and Debra Nance, a judge in Southfield’s 46th District Court, face complaints of lying during the investigation of an incident at a bike shop on Mackinac Island. Brue is alleged to have lied about being assaulted by the bike shop owner, and Nance is alleged to have lied during the JTC investigation of Brue.
