I can honestly say that. Okay. I'm not systemically racist. I'm a new racist. >> That breaking news from the seven investigators. A local judge accused of making racist and a homophobic comments is vacating her position after being removed from her docket more than a year ago. >> It's a story the seven investigators first broke in September of 2024. >> In Oakland County, Michigan, a probate judge has vacated her position following a local news investigation. The judge, Kathleen Ryan, had been on paid leave for approximately 15 months after secret recordings surfaced of her making racist and homophobic remarks. In one of those recordings, Judge Ryan stated that she was not systemically racist, but described herself as a new racist. The recordings were turned over to county officials and later reported on by WXYZ News. During the time she was on leave, Judge Ryan was removed from hearing cases, but remained employed by the court. This week, she officially vacated her position rather than returning to the bench. No public disciplinary hearing was held before her departure. The vacancy will now be filled through appointment by the governor. Fin lies, baby. The comments came to light after Oakland County Probate Court Administrator Edward Hutton provided recordings he says document years of harassment and inappropriate behavior by the judge. According to reporting, the remarks included derogatory statements about black people, homophobic slurs aimed at public officials, and repeated hostile language toward court staff. After the recordings became public, the chief judge removed Ryan from hearing cases. A complaint was filed with the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission. However, due to confidentiality rules, the commission did not publicly confirm any investigation or findings. As a result, the public was left with limited information about what actions, if any, were taken behind closed doors. For more than a year, the judge remained on paid leave. >> It's a story the seven investigators first broke in September of 2024. Seven investigator Heather Catalo is here with what she has learned. >> This has been a long process. You'll recall we revealed recordings of Judge Kathleen Ryan making some shocking statements. Judge Ryan has essentially been on paid leave for 15 months and once described herself in those recordings as untouchable. The Judicial Tenure Commission has been investigating this for more than a year, but they did not take action against her. Her lawyers confirming to me late today that she is retiring and the vacancy for her position has already been posted by the governor's office for potential candidates to apply for an appointment to the bench. >> I can honestly say that. Okay, I'm not systemically racist. I'm a new racist. >> The seven investigators were the first to reveal the recordings that Oakland County officials say prompted Judge Kathleen Ryan's removal from her docket in August of 2024. >> Black I'm so off at this Black Lives Matter hashme too all this oh my god like you >> on Wednesday a judicial vacancy was posted on the state bar website saying the former Oakland County chief probate prom judge was vacating her position on the bench Kathleen Ayan presiding >> morning you may be seated >> Ryan was a probate judge for 13 years until the Oakland County probate court administrator ator filed a complaint against her, alleging Ryan had been harassing him, calling him after hours for years and making racist and other inappropriate comments. >> At this point, the issue is no longer just about what one judge said on tape. The larger question is how the system responded. There was no public hearing, no published findings, no explanation to the families affected by this court. Instead, the process ended quietly. The judge did not return to the bench. She did not face public discipline. She simply vacated the position. From the outside, it looks less like accountability and more like administrative closure. >> I've never met anybody that enjoys hurting people and brags about it the way she does or intimidating people, scaring people. >> Hutton says his complaint was not acted on for months. So, he then sent the recordings of his calls with Judge Ryan to state and county officials. I just want to make it right and I want the people in Oakland County that come to court to get a fair shake, to have their day in court to have a an unbiased trier of of fact. >> It's important to understand what probate judges do. They oversee guardianships, estates and wills, mental health commitments, and decisions involving elderly and disabled individuals. These are some of the most vulnerable people in the legal system. These are cases where bias isn't just inappropriate, it's dangerous. A probate judge's discretion can determine who controls another person's life, finances, and freedom, which raises a serious question. If a judge openly admits racial bias, how many decisions were already made under that mindset? And how would anyone ever know? >> If you're black from any other country, you're doing way better. If you're an American black person, then you're a lazy piece of >> Judge Ryan has been paid for the last 15 months while she was out of the courthouse, and taxpayers have been footing the bill for visiting judges to handle her docket. Now, her lawyers say she is retiring and leaving the bench. >> This is where the pattern starts to look familiar because we've seen this playbook before. Paid leave, internal review, confidential process, quiet exit. It's the same structure used when police officers are caught on body cam doing things the public was never supposed to see. Different uniform, same protection. Judges don't operate in isolation. They're part of the same system that decides whether police misconduct is punished or excused. If the courts can't police themselves transparently, who exactly is holding the line? Judicial Tenure Commission investigations are not public unless they reach the point of the JTC filing formal charges. Again, that did not happen in this case. So, the results of that will not be made public. Now, meanwhile, I did speak with one of Judge Ryan's colleagues, Judge Daniel A. O'Brien. He said Judge Ryan was a good judge, and he expressed frustration that the court was left with visiting judges for so long while the JTC investigated, saying that really left a lot of cases not having continuity. So, at least there's some resolution. She's retiring >> at least. And I'm sure a lot of people who have been in front of her are going back in their memories and going, "Wow, >> did I get a fair shake?" Yeah. >> Here's the part worth sitting with. There was no trial, no public accounting, no acknowledgement of harm, just a resignation after 15 months on the taxpayers's dime. If an ordinary employee admitted racial bias on tape, they'd be terminated. If an ordinary citizen said this in court, it would be used against them. But when power says it, the system cushions the fall. This isn't about politics. It's about accountability and whether the rules apply evenly or only downward. Because when judges protect judges and cops protect cops, the public is left with nothing but trust. And trust is not accountability. How many cases were decided while this bias existed? How many families were affected without ever knowing? And why does the system treat transparency like a threat instead of a requirement? Because when oversight is secret, accountability becomes optional. And when accountability is optional, abuse isn't an exception. It's a risk built into the process. Thin blue lies, baby.