Latest news with #psychologicalevaluation
CBS News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Formal complaint accuses Metro Detroit judge of mistreating court employees
A Michigan district court judge is accused of refusing to provide a psychological evaluation to the Judicial Tenure Commission and creating a "climate of fear among court personnel" in a new formal complaint. A complaint was filed on Wednesday against Judge Kristen Hartig, who served in the 52-4 District Court in Troy, Michigan. In a statement, Chief Judge Travis Reed said he requested that Hartig be temporarily removed from the docket. Hartig has 14 days to respond to the complaint. "The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission plays a key role in maintaining the integrity of our courts. While due process is vital, accountability helps preserve public trust in the judiciary,' Reed said. "Based on the limited information available to me at the time, I removed Judge Hartig from the most serious cases within the authority I had as chief judge. Now that a formal complaint has been filed, further action may be appropriate. I believe temporarily removing her from her full docket would be in the best interest of the court and the communities we serve." According to the complaint, the commission began investigating misconduct allegations before April 2024. The commission concluded that mental health was an issue and ordered Hartig to undergo a psychological evaluation. After receiving her results, Hartig was ordered by the commission to provide the documents; however, she refused despite the commission extending the deadline to provide them. The complaint says that Hartig eventually submitted the documents six months after the commission requested them. The complaint included the findings from the exam, but it was blacked out as requested by Hartig, "pending a determination by presiding authorities as to whether it should be kept sealed during the pendency of the proceedings." The complaint claims that Hartig required a court administrator to be available during scheduled absences and scolded the administrator for not answering emails when she attended a funeral. Hartig allegedly told the administrator that she must be in contact with her every day unless she was "unconscious," according to the complaint. The commission accused Hartig of ordering the court administrator to find a substitute for a clerk, although that was not part of the administrator's duties. Additionally, Hartig was accused of directing a pregnant probation officer to stand up and show her belly during a Zoom meeting without the officer's consent. According to the complaint, Hartig is accused of improperly dismissing felony cases with prejudice to punish Oakland County prosecutors over scheduling issues and for prosecutors opposing hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission says Hartig only had the authority to dismiss cases without prejudice. In one of those cases, the commission says Hartig's dismissal "was not made in good faith and/or with due diligence." Hartig became a district court judge in 2010, according to her bio on the court's website. She currently oversees the Recovery Treatment Court, which works to rehabilitate people, and has conducted town halls to educate residents on the opioid epidemic.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Air traffic controller raises safety concerns about Newark Airport
The air traffic controller at the heart of this alarming report works from the Philadelphia facility overseeing Newark Liberty International Airport. Her fears stem from a cascade of recent technical failures that have left planes unmonitored mid-flight. She was the only controller on duty during a May 9 radar blackout that lasted 90 seconds - an incident that left her unable to track four active aircraft. 'It's happening again,' she recalled thinking, describing the moment all flight tracking systems abruptly failed. The trauma of such events has pushed her to take leave and undergo a psychological evaluation. She recounted another disturbing episode on April 28, when a separate power outage lasted a minute and a half. These lapses are not isolated: she estimates there have been at least a dozen technology-related failures in the past ten months. 'Do I think it's safe to fly from or to the airport?' she wrote. 'Let me put it like this: I deliberately avoid my own airport when booking flights, even if the alternatives are more expensive and less convenient.' Her chilling personal decision underscores a deep distrust in the system she once helped operate. The controller attributes many of Newark's problems to a controversial move last summer, when operations were shifted from Long Island to Philadelphia's Terminal Radar Approach Control. This change, intended to streamline the region's air traffic management, backfired badly, she claims. 'The relocation... has jeopardized our ability to direct planes at America's second busiest airport,' she explained. Staffing levels plummeted from 30 to 24, while flight volumes remained unchanged. She believes at least 40 trained personnel are needed to safely manage the traffic. She also criticized the FAA for relying on outdated infrastructure instead of modernizing its systems. According to her, the agency installed underground wiring to feed data from Long Island to Philadelphia, creating 'one big feed relay' that frequently overloads. 'Since the move to Philadelphia, every single one of my coworkers has experienced a technical malfunction or communications failure.' The pattern has left her and her colleagues with little confidence in the reliability of their equipment. . Her account, published in The Times, suggests that systemic issues - not just isolated incidents - are threatening flight safety. Despite issuing repeated internal concerns, the controller said little has been done to address the risks. Her words were not intended simply to highlight poor working conditions, but to deliver a stark warning. 'If the authorities don't fix this mess immediately, people will pay with their lives.' The statement carries extra weight given her years of experience and her decision to avoid flying from Newark entirely. Her testimonial presents a rare and raw look into the psychological toll of safeguarding America's skies amid a failing system. Newark Liberty, once a trusted hub, now faces a crisis of confidence from within.
