Elected Detroit 36th District Court judge won't serve until 2029 due to suspension in 2023

Opponent responds to newly elected Detroit judge who was suspended

The drama of the 2026 Midterm Election continues a week later after Detroit voters chose three judges for the city's 36th District Court. One of their choices, however, will not be able to take the bench as she was suspended in 2020 by the Michigan Supreme Court for alleged misconduct on the bench and abusing court powers.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A Detroit judge who was elected by voters will be unable to work for years after being suspended in 2023.

A judge-elect who won't work until 2029

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The drama of the 2026 Midterm Election continues a week later after Detroit voters chose three judges for the city's 36th District Court. One of their choices, however, will not be able to take the bench after she was at the center of controversy in 2020. The Michigan Supreme Court accused her of misconduct on the bench and abusing court powers.

Her suspension began in 2023 and is expected to last until 2029.

Judge Kahlilia Davis was accused of abusing court powers and interfering in the work and livelihood of a process server for the court, even lying under oath. In 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court suspended Davis for failing to keep a video record of the court cases in violation of Michigan Court rules.

What her opponent had to say

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Meanwhile, voters still elected her in the 2026 Midterms, even though her suspension still has a few more years.

FOX 2's Charlie Langton talked with opponent Jo Irby, who was one of four candidates on the ballot. Out of three chosen, she was not.

"I think that the Supreme Court did not clarify what they meant," Irby said. "Why would you say that if you were to run and win, you can’t sit? That’s almost equivalent to saying you’re not a doctor yet until 2029, but you can apply for a job as a doctor right now. And then when 2029 comes, you can go and take the job from someone else."

The question now is, do voters ever do background checks on the candidates they elect? FOX 2 asked Irby if she had gone negative against the former judge, with advertisements for the likes of the US Senate race and Michigan Governor's Race.

She says no.

"I don’t want to win anything like that," Irby said. "As I indicated, I’m a person, I think I have candor. I think, you know, I wanted to run on my own merits. And if individuals, if the voters would had just searched our names as judges, it would have popped up. My resume would have popped up. Everyone’s experience and who they would have popped up. But people didn’t do that."

What's next:

As said before, Davis will be unable to sit on the bench until 2029.