- A Michigan judge on January 10 berated an elderly cancer patient for not mowing his weeds
- Hamtramck District Judge Alexis G. Krot apologized on Tuesday, saying she is "very embarrassed."
- She also wrote in a statement that she reported herself to a misconduct panel.
A Michigan judge who berated an elderly cancer patient for not mowing his weeds said that she's "very embarrassed" in an apology note and reported herself to a commission that investigates misconduct by judges.
"I apologize to the person who appeared before me and to our entire community for having failed to meet the high standards that we expect of our judicial officers, and that I expect of myself," Hamtramck District Judge Alexis Krot said in a January 18 statement.
The judge said she "acted intemperately. I'm very embarrassed that I did so," and that she "made a mistake."
Krot had hounded 72-year-old Burhan Chowdhury of Hamtramck, near Detroit, for leaving the weeds outside his home unkept.
"That is totally inappropriate," she yelled at the man.
Chowdhury had been issued a ticket in August 2021, and appeared before Krot in a Zoom hearing of the 31st District Court on January 10.
In a video of the exchange, Chowdhury appeared to have trouble breathing and told Krot that he failed to maintain his yard because his cancer treatments were making him weak.
"You should be ashamed of yourself," Krot could be heard yelling in the video, which was shared on social media. "If I could give you jail time on this, I would."
She ordered Chowdhury to get the weeds cleaned up and fined him $100.
Krot said in her statement that she has reported herself to the Judicial Tenure Commission to be investigated because it was the "right thing to do."
"I will continue to hold myself to the standards I set for others," she wrote.