MI- SHOCK: Magistrate Tells Man to Kill Himself

5-13-2008 Michigan

(WXYZ) - Court officials in Novi say a magistrate “could have chosen better words” when she told a man convicted of drunk driving and other offenses that he should commit suicide by jumping to his death or slitting his wrists in a bathtub.

52nd District Court Magistrate Judith Holtz made the shocking statements during a hearing on April 10 as she was sentencing 20-year-old Michael Robert Dickey on a charge of Minor in Possession of alcohol. Dickey had two prior convictions for drunk driving and, according to the court, “had failed to comply with his bond conditions to remain drug and alcohol free.”

According to court transcripts obtained by WXYZ, Dickey admitted to Holtz that he’d “made a lot of mistakes” -- and that’s when she unleashed from the bench.

“I don’t mean to be offensive, but you have two Operating While Intoxicated convictions and then you blow a .223 and you’re still not twenty one?, Holtz said.

“Here is my suggestion to you, Mr. Dickey, climb up on the roof of your house and jump off; either that or get in a bathtub filled with hot water and slash your wrists; then you will be dead; it will be cheaper; it will be faster and in the long run it will be less painful to anybody who cares about you, because that’s where you’re headed now, and the best part of it is you won’t take somebody else with you.

“Who do you think you are? You don’t have the right to go out there and endanger innocent people and you know it. And you have had two convictions for drunk driving and you’re not twenty one and you still drink.”

Holtz is a veteran magistrate who joined the court in 1992 after practicing law for 18 years. She declined to talk with WXYZ about the tirade, but 52nd District Court officials offered an explanation late Monday.

“The words chosen by the Court’s magistrate to convey the seriousness and severity of the defendant’s actions and crime could have been better chosen,” the court said in a statement. “The magistrate was attempting to convey, through an analogy, that the defendant’s actions and past behavior has continually put the community at risk.”

The court’s statement to WXYZ also sought to prove Dickey remains a risk to the community. “It should also be noted that Mr. Dickey, at a probation appointment on May 12, 2008, tested positive for cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines in a urine screen.” Dickey has been sent to a rehab program. ..more.. by WXYZ