On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, The Detroit News reported that former 36th District Court Judge Khalilia Davis, currently suspended for misconduct until 2029, is engaged in a legal battle to have her name included on the August primary ballot. Davis is seeking one of six open judicial positions, despite her ongoing suspension.

Earlier this spring, Davis submitted nominating petitions to the state. However, the Michigan Secretary of State ruled on April 30 that Davis would not be placed on the ballot due to her six-year suspension, which was triggered by lawsuits aimed at preventing her candidacy.

Davis is challenging this decision, arguing that it was based on an erroneous 2024 ruling that also disqualified her from appearing on the ballot that year. On May 4, she filed a lawsuit in the Court of Claims.

Daniel Wholihan, Davis’ attorney, stated, “It’s for the voters to decide who should be their judge in Detroit… We have elections, judges are an elected office. The voters of Detroit should have their say.”

While Davis faces a suspension from the Michigan Supreme Court for misconduct that extends for three more years, she is slated to regain eligibility to preside over cases in 2029. The Michigan Supreme Court initially suspended Davis in 2023 for six years. Wholihan noted that if elected, Davis would commence serving cases upon the conclusion of her suspension.

Court of Claims Judge Robert Redford has granted Davis’ motion for expedited consideration and has instructed the Secretary of State to respond. A hearing is scheduled for June 5, should Judge Redford deem it necessary.

The lawsuit contends that the Secretary of State lacks the authority to exclude Davis from the ballot solely based on the Supreme Court’s disciplinary action. Davis asserts that the Court of Claims erred in 2024 by conflating eligibility to appear on the ballot with the authority to exercise judicial powers.

Davis’s legal team argues that a June 23, 2023, Supreme Court order did not explicitly prohibit Davis from running for judicial office or being placed on the ballot. The lawsuit quotes the order as imposing a six-year conditional suspension, stating that if Davis were elected or appointed, she would be “nevertheless be debarred from exercising the power and prerogatives of the office until at least the expiration of the suspension.”

Davis’s suspension stemmed from a pattern of misconduct on the bench that “besmirched the judiciary’s reputation and prejudiced the administration of justice.” The Michigan Supreme Court initially suspended her in June 2020, and she has not been on the bench since.

In 2023, the Supreme Court deemed Davis’s misconduct as “pervasive,” citing abuse of contempt powers, multiple summary dismissals of cases involving a process server Davis distrusted, intentional disconnection of recording equipment, and recording courtroom proceedings on her personal cellphone. The court found that her misconduct impacted the administration of justice and undermined the justice system’s ability to find the truth.

The justices also noted that Davis dismissed claims that potentially had merit, and people were not able to properly appeal decisions because there was no transcript of hearings or a recording from which a transcript could have been generated. They described her conduct as “certainly beyond the pale for a member of our judiciary.”

Davis’s term as judge in Detroit’s 36th District Court ended in January 2023. She was deemed ineligible for reelection by the Michigan Secretary of State for lying on her affidavit of identity. Davis faced two accusations of misconduct investigated by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission. In March 2020, she was cited for holding court proceedings without recordings, though the new filing was an amendment of the 2020 case, so there was no determination on it.

Davis had been under scrutiny since early in her term, which began in January 2017. She missed the first few months of her term, telling WJBK that she had an infection after surgery and wanted to avoid putting the courthouse at risk.

Former Chief Judge Nancy Blount removed Davis from her docket in October 2017, citing her “demonstrated inability” to do her job. Blount also ordered Davis in February 2019 not to bring weapons to work, required her to go through security, and banned her from using the judge’s door. A month later, Blount prohibited Davis from hearing cases due to her failure to use video recording equipment during hearings.

 

 

Source: The Detroit News