When I first reported on Judge Kirsten Nielsen Hartig’s misconduct investigation, I highlighted the All Points North mental health evaluation and the failed Judicial Tenure Commission redaction, a professional report concluding she was mentally unfit to serve. Coupled with the Judicial Tenure Commission (JTC) inquiry into her conduct, the findings should have been a turning point for accountability.
Instead, Judge Hartig has dug in deeper, using the very machinery of the court to shield herself from challenge.
Motions That Disappear
Defendants like Susie Weiss have repeatedly filed motions to recuse Hartig, citing the JTC probe and the All Points North report. Those motions are properly stamped in the court’s mobile filing system, yet they never appear in the official docket. Clerks under Hartig’s authority simply won’t register them, ensuring that her unfitness is never part of the official record.
This isn’t a clerical error; it’s blatant obstruction.
Circuit Court in Limbo
The problem doesn’t stop there.
In Weiss’s case, the circuit court has refused to proceed without a transfer order, an order Hartig herself denied. This places the case in procedural limbo: defendants cannot move forward, yet they also cannot get Hartig removed from the bench.
It’s a deadlock manufactured by the very person whose impartiality, and mental stability, is in question.
Cleaning the File for Appeal
In a move that underscores her tactical gamesmanship, Hartig postponed Weiss’s trial until the 30th. Sources close to the case say the delay was designed to “clean” the file for appeal; erasing traces of recusal challenges and limiting grounds for higher review.
In other words, Judge Hartig is manipulating not only the docket, but the appellate record itself.
Why It Matters
This saga reveals a chilling reality: a judge deemed unfit to serve by mental health professionals can still control her courtroom by suppressing challenges, stalling proceedings, and sanitizing records. It doesn’t matter that they moved her from criminal cases, because clearly she can do just as much damage on any case.
Every defendant who faces her risks losing due process, not because of the merits of their case, but because of Hartig’s ability to twist procedure to her advantage.
The judiciary cannot credibly speak about transparency or accountability while Judge Hartig remains on the bench. Until the JTC or higher courts act decisively, defendants like Weiss will continue fighting not just for justice in their cases, but for the basic right to have their motions recognized at all.
Previous coverage: Michigan Judge Kirsten Nielsen Hartig Faces Misconduct Complaint Over Withheld Mental Health Report, False Statements
