The Michigan Supreme Court increased the punishment for a judge who committed sexual harassment.
The Judicial Tenure Commission gave Judge Gregg Iddings a 60-day suspension without pay for sexually harassing his judicial secretary. The Supreme Court says that’s not enough. It boosted Iddings’ suspension to 6 months. Iddings will also have to see a counselor for a year.
In the order, the court says “The respondent’s misconduct created an offensive and hostile work environment that directly affected the job performance of his judicial secretary in her dealings with the public and the court’s business and affected the administration of justice.”
Iddings admitted to multiple instances of sexual harassment against his secretary. Her name was kept out of public court filings.
But the Michigan Supreme Court ordered he stay off the bench for six months.
Between 2012 and 2015, the woman says Iddings’ harassment made her feel – quote “an enormous amount of stress, anxiety, discomfort, nervousness, mental breakdowns, mood swings and disruptive sleep.”
Among the many allegations, the woman says Iddings’ suggested she have an affair with him and go with him to exotic locations.
The court noted that Iddings was remorseful and cooperated with the investigation. But it said the original recommendation was not enough for the multiple years of sexual harassment Iddings committed.