Ingham Circuit Judge Nettles-Nickerson lied, special investigation concludes

LANSING — Ingham County Circuit Judge Beverly Nettles-Nickerson lied, made false accusations and failed to do her job on the court, according to a Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission investigation.

Leopold P. Borrello, the commission’s master judge, started a special series of hearings on Nettles-Nickerson’s case in September. Based on testimony presented during those hearings, he found that the judge lied about her residency to get a divorce in Kent County, fabricated evidence, created falsehoods to support her claims of racism, pressured her court reporter to lie and then retaliated when the court reporter refused.

Nettles-Nickerson also allegedly made false allegations that Chief Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette had an improper relationship withher , made false allegations against Collette as well as court administrator David Easterday and state court administrator James Hughes in a press conference, and improperly placed cases in the no-progress docket for her court.

Continued -In addition, she also allegedly had excessive absences, was untimely in starting cases and in adjournments, showed bad docket management, allowed a social relationship to influence the decision to release a criminal defendant from probation, engaged in misconduct at a Jan. 16, 2006, incident at a service station, and used race and allegations of racism improperly.

A hearing on the findings is scheduled for 10 a.m. March 10 at the Michigan Court of Appeals in Detroit. If the commission finds the charges are valid, Nettles-Nickerson could face public censure, suspension or removal from office by the Michigan Supreme Court.

Nettles-Nickerson has been on paid leave from her position at the Ingham County Court since the Supreme Court appointed Borrello to the tenure commission. She could not be reached for comment, but she has vigorously defended herself, denying any wrongdoing.