A Michigan district court judge is accused of refusing to provide a psychological evaluation to the Judicial Tenure Commission and creating a “climate of fear among court personnel” in a new formal complaint.

A complaint was filed on Wednesday against Judge Kristen Hartig, who served in the 52-4 District Court in Troy, Michigan. In a statement, Chief Judge Travis Reed said he requested that Hartig be temporarily removed from the docket.

Hartig has 14 days to respond to the complaint.

“The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission plays a key role in maintaining the integrity of our courts. While due process is vital, accountability helps preserve public trust in the judiciary,’ Reed said. “Based on the limited information available to me at the time, I removed Judge Hartig from the most serious cases within the authority I had as chief judge. Now that a formal complaint has been filed, further action may be appropriate. I believe temporarily removing her from her full docket would be in the best interest of the court and the communities we serve.”  

According to the complaint, the commission began investigating misconduct allegations before April 2024. The commission concluded that mental health was an issue and ordered Hartig to undergo a psychological evaluation. After receiving her results, Hartig was ordered by the commission to provide the documents; however, she refused despite the commission extending the deadline to provide them. 

The complaint says that Hartig eventually submitted the documents six months after the commission requested them. The complaint included the findings from the exam, but it was blacked out as requested by Hartig, “pending a determination by presiding authorities as to whether it should be kept sealed during the pendency of the proceedings.”

The complaint claims that Hartig required a court administrator to be available during scheduled absences and scolded the administrator for not answering emails when she attended a funeral. Hartig allegedly told the administrator that she must be in contact with her every day unless she was “unconscious,” according to the complaint.

The commission accused Hartig of ordering the court administrator to find a substitute for a clerk, although that was not part of the administrator’s duties. Additionally, Hartig was accused of directing a pregnant probation officer to stand up and show her belly during a Zoom meeting without the officer’s consent.

According to the complaint, Hartig is accused of improperly dismissing felony cases with prejudice to punish Oakland County prosecutors over scheduling issues and for prosecutors opposing hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission says Hartig only had the authority to dismiss cases without prejudice.

In one of those cases, the commission says Hartig’s dismissal “was not made in good faith and/or with due diligence.”

Hartig became a district court judge in 2010, according to her bio on the court’s website. She currently oversees the Recovery Treatment Court, which works to rehabilitate people, and has conducted town halls to educate residents on the opioid epidemic.

Longtime Detroit Lions nemesis Aaron Rodgers will return to Ford Field for the first time since the 2022 season in 2025.

Rodgers, who quarterbacked the Lions’ NFC North rival Green Bay Packers, reportedly plans to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of their upcoming minicamp. He returns to action for what will be his 21st NFL season.

The Lions will host the Steelers in Week 16 at Ford Field, meaning Rodgers could make his first start at the home of his former rival since Nov. 6, 2022. This matchup is currently slated to kick off at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21.

Pittsburgh has been linked to the veteran quarterback throughout the offseason, as the team parted ways with both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Rodgers joins a quarterback room that also features Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson and 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard.

Rodgers has spent the last two seasons as the quarterback of the New York Jets. His first season, the 2023 campaign, ended after just one drive as he suffered a torn Achilles.

He returned to action in 2024 and started all 17 games for the Jets, totaling 3,897 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while leading the team to a 5-12 finish.

Across his time with the Packers, Rodgers was 18-8 in starts against the Lions. He lost each of the last two games against the Lions, however, including a 20-16 Detroit win at Lambeau Field in what was his final game as a Packer.

Rodgers has totaled 6,551 yards, 54 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his career against the Lions. Among one of his biggest moments against Detroit was a game-winning Hail Mary to tight end Richard Rodgers as time expired in a Thursday Night Football game on Dec. 3, 2015.