When opposing counsel dares to talk about “protecting the integrity of the judiciary” in Oakland County, you almost have to laugh because if this is integrity, then the word has officially lost all meaning. Oakland County’s court system isn’t just dysfunctional; it’s a full-blown hot mess express.
And the receipts are everywhere.
Judges Behaving Badly
Judge Kathleen Ryan
Let’s start with Judge Kathleen Ryan. Recordings show her casually dropping gay and racist slurs in a public setting, the kind of thing that would get most people fired from a middle school cafeteria job, let alone a position where you decide the fate of families. Instead of accountability, the system circles the wagons to protect her, as if bigotry behind the bench is just another Tuesday in Oakland County.
Judge Daniel O’Brien
Then there’s Judge Daniel O’Brien, caught on tape advising professional guardians on how to sell off the homes of vulnerable wards against their families’ wishes. Imagine your life’s work, your house, your savings, your family heirlooms, being liquidated because a judge handed professional guardians a blank check to exploit you. This isn’t oversight. It’s legalized looting.
(And something similar happened with Judge Roberts Kengis in Allegan County, too).
Judge Lisa Gorcyca
Lisa Gorcyca became infamous for blowing through the fence of judicial decency, literally humiliating and detaining children in her courtroom because they refused to have lunch with their father. Instead of protecting kids, she weaponized her gavel against them. That’s not family law. That’s state-sanctioned trauma.
Judge Kirsten Nielsen Hartig: Violence as a Management Style
Judge Kirsten “I want to put a hatchet in your neck” Hartig took courtroom bullying to a new low. Staff, attorneys, litigants; no one was spared. When your go-to management strategy is violent imagery, maybe you shouldn’t be managing the lives of thousands of families. And that’s a fraction of what we’ve covered at clutch.
Judge Lisa Asadoorian: Flying Off the Handle
And let’s not forget Lisa “shut your mouth” Asadoorian. Known for screaming at litigants, exceeding her authority, and trampling the law, she’s less a judge than a rage machine with a gavel. The people of Oakland County deserve better than being berated in a taxpayer-funded kangaroo court.
The “Integrity” They’re Protecting
If you’ve ever tried to get an official recording of these “public” hearings, you already know the courts slam that door shut. Oakland County blocks litigants from obtaining copies of the very hearings they paid for with tax dollars—hearings where their own rights are trampled.
You get gaslit, bullied, sometimes even threatened by the very people in black robes, and the county makes sure there’s no usable record of it.
Let’s recap:
- A judge berates kids for not eating lunch with their dad.
- A judge tells guardians how to rob families.
- A judge spouts racist and homophobic slurs while drunk-dialing staff.
- A judge threatens litigants and staff with violent imagery.
- And the public is barred from accessing the evidence.
This isn’t “judicial integrity.” It’s systemic rot.
Why This Matters
Oakland County, most of Michigan’s judiciary, really, doesn’t just need a tune-up. It needs to be gutted, fumigated, and rebuilt from the ground up. Every day this mess is allowed to continue, families are destroyed, estates are pillaged, and public trust disintegrates. If you want to know why people have lost faith in the justice system, look no further than Oakland County’s courts.
Call to Action
Oakland County taxpayers deserve transparency, accountability, and a court system that doesn’t operate like a backroom racket. Start demanding recordings of public hearings. Demand investigations into judicial conduct. And most importantly—vote like your rights depend on it.
Because in Oakland County, they do.
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