Judicial panel recommends 30 days suspension, censure for Judge Lisa Gorcyca

DETROIT (WJBK) - The judicial tenure commission makes recommendations for an Oakland County judge after she sent three children to a juvenile detention center for refusing to spend time with their dad.

What really got the judge in trouble is her response to misconduct allegations.  The judicial tenure commission was not happy with the way Judge Lisa Gorcyca handed the custody of three Bloomfield children.

It was even more upset that in her written statement, she lied about her actions in a written response. That's why the JTC recommended that she be publicly censured and suspended from office for 30 days and foot the bill for more than $12,000 that it cost to prosecute the case. She claimed her actions were a
result of a five year custody battle where she tried everybody to get the children to build a relationship with their father but nothing worked.

But the JTC's decision came down to what happened in her courtroom on June 24, 2015. The commission said that she committed judicial misconduct and abused her power.

"You two have been brainwashed. Your dad is a good man. Your dad is a good man who loves you," she says on tape from June 24. "You have been brainwashed."

Video and transcripts show how she used demeaning language before she ordered them to Children's Village to refuse to spend time with the father. A juvenile facility where the children ages, 9, 10 and 14 at the time, and would be confined for search 17 days. Their mother was not allowed to visit and their father in Israel on business.

"Dad if you ever think that he has changed and that therapy has helped and he's no longer in Charlie Manson's cult, then you let us know," she said.

When the judge was questioned about her actions that day the JTC claimed she was not truthful. For example, Gorcyca claimed making a forward motion with her finger was not to signify that her oldest son was crazy but how he could make progress with therapy.

"She told the commission she was not calling him crazy," said Glen Page, a prosecutor with the JTC. "'I was referring to forward movement he would make in therapy.' The man said 'No you weren't, that's wrong. That's false.'"

"She said 'no way' I did not intend for that to be the message with that gesture,” said Tom Cranmer, Gorcyca’s attorney.

The commission stated if it wasn't for her exemplary record, the JTC might have recommended a lengthier sentence for her conduct. The state Supreme Court will reject or accept the decision.

Earlier this evening, FOX 2 spoke to Oakland County corporate council and was told this case has already cost Oakland County more than $100,000 in attorney fees to defend the judge.