Complaint filed against judge who sent kids to 'jail' Judge ordered 3 children into juvenile detention for refusing to have lunch with father

Elisha Anderson | Detroit Free Press

An Oakland County judge “failed to act in a patient, dignified, and courteous manner” last summer when she sent three children to juvenile detention for refusing her orders to talk to and have lunch with their estranged father, a formal complaint filed by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission says.

The 13-page document filed Monday accuses Oakland County Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca of misconduct in her handling of the bitter custody battle involving the minor children of Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni and Omer Tsimhoni. The children, now ages 10, 11 and 14, were handcuffed and removed from the courtroom by deputies during the July 24 contempt hearings before Gorcyca.

The two-count complaint also accuses Gorcyca of making false statements to the Judicial Tenure Commission in her response to the body's initial inquiry.

The tenure commission complaint alleges that during the contempt hearings Gorcyca “displayed improper demeanor,” “used a raised and/or angry voice,” “laughed at the children and was sarcastic.”

The complaint says Gorcyca also “made significant misrepresentations of law and fact” during the hearings. According to the document, she told the children they would be housed in jail cells at Children’s Village — a county detention center; they wouldn’t have privacy using the restroom and their incarceration would not be reviewed until after they turned 18.

Gorcyca’s office referred calls to the judge’s attorney Tuesday.

"We are extremely disappointed that the Judicial Tenure Commission decided to proceed with a complaint but we are looking forward to telling the whole story of this tragic case at a formal hearing," Gorcyca’s attorney, Tom Cranmer, said in a statement.

"In the end, we are confident that Judge Gorcyca will be fully vindicated and that the complaint against her will be dismissed," the statement went on to say.

Cranmer said he doesn't plan to comment beyond the statement.

The complaint says Gorcyca made false statements to the Judicial Tenure Commission during its initial inquiry when she was asked about comparing the oldest child in court to mass murderer Charles Manson and his cult, while circling her index finger around her right temple.

Gorcyca falsely stated when she was making the motions at her temple, “she was not indicating that he was crazy but was referring to the forward movement he would make in therapy,” the complaint says.

It also says Gorcyca stated that she did not find the children in contempt because they refused to talk to or have lunch with their dad, and the complaint called her answer to the commission “false.”

Gorcyca, who has been overseeing the case for more than five years, made headlines across the globe when she ordered the three children to Children's Village.

She eventually sent the children to summer camp, and then into a days-long reconciliation treatment program with their father. The kids have been living with their father since August.

Attorney William Lansat, appointed by the court as an advocate for the children, believes the children's mother has worked to destroy their relationship with their father, according to statements and court filings.

Gorcyca earlier issued a gag order in the case.

Tsimhoni’s attorney declined to comment on the filing by the JTC.

Wilson Tanner III, an attorney for Eibschitz-Tsimhoni, said he was limited in what he could say because of the gag order. He said the JTC complaint closely tracks the June 24 hearing transcript and it speaks for itself.

Eibschitz-Tsimhoni has said in court documents that Gorcyca is biased in favor of the children's father and asked Gorcyca to remove herself from the case. Gorcyca denied the request.

Gorcyca has 14 days to respond to the Judicial Tenure Commission complaint.

The Michigan JTC may recommend that a judge be censured, suspended or removed from office after a public hearing is held, according to its website. The complaint could also be dismissed.

Staff Writer L.L. Brasier contributed to this report.

Contact Elisha Anderson: eanderson@freepress.com or 313-222-5144.