Ouster Hearing Begins for Detroit Mayor Despite Legal Maneuvering
Updated: Lawyers for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick only had a half-hour this morning to stop a hearing by the state’s governor that could result in their client’s ouster from office.
Lawyer James Thomas said yesterday that the removal hearing was set to begin at 9 a.m., and the Michigan Supreme Court opens at 8:30 a.m., reported the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News. “We’ll call and see where to go from there,” he said.
But the hearing began as scheduled at 9 a.m. today, the Associated Press reports. Kilpatrick did not attend.
Kilpatrick’s lawyers filed an appeal with the Michigan Supreme Court shortly after the hearing began, the Associated Press reports.
Thomas faced a chilly reception yesterday evening after he arrived late to argue before the Michigan Court of Appeals in his lawsuit to stop the hearing, the Detroit Free Press reports. Thomas had requested an emergency appeal after a lower court ruled earlier yesterday against Kilpatrick in a suit that contends Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has prejudged the case and the law governing the hearings is vague.
The Detroit Free Press reports this exchange between Thomas and appellate Judges Christopher Murray and Michael Talbot:
Thomas: I apologize for being late, but I didn’t anticipate that the Lodge would be as clogged as it was.
Talbot: Your office is downtown. … You haven’t got a cell phone?
Thomas: I figured that I was 10 minutes late–that the cell phone could probably not be answered after 5 o’clock, and so I did not call because I did not have the number.
Talbot: You prayed for this expedited hearing today, didn’t you?
Thomas: I apologize. … The message that the hearing was going to be conducted–I wasn’t even in the office to receive it.
Murray: Well, someone should pay a little more attention.
The removal hearing was scheduled after Kilpatrick was charged with perjury for allegedly giving false testimony in a police whistle-blower case that resulted in an $8.4 million settlement. Members of the Detroit City Council say they were never told the settlement included a promise to keep secret text messages revealing Kilpatrick’s affair with an aide and possible perjury.
Updated at 9:45 a.m. to include Associated Press news that the hearing began as scheduled and at 11:40 to include Associated Press news that the appeal was filed with the Michigan Supreme Court.
