Judge in Bitter Custody Case Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI – The Oakland Circuit judge who recused herself from an acrimonious child custody dispute after she was accused of misconduct has asked that the Judicial Tenure Commission's chief examiner be disqualified from hearing her case.

Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca made the request in a filing with the Judicial Tenure Commission, which on May 31 is scheduled to hear allegations of misconduct in her handling of custody issues surrounding the three Tsimhoni children of Bloomfield Hills, The Detroit News reports.

The filing asked that the commission’s executive director, Paul J. Fischer, and his staff, including Margaret N.S. Rynier, be disqualified from prosecuting the matter.

A hearing on Gorcyca’s motion seeking their disqualification is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday in Plymouth District Court. She alleges “prosecutorial misconduct” in the Judicial Tenure Commission’s investigation and wants an independent examiner appointed.

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Gorcyca’s filing is the latest in a flurry of court documents that have marked the long-running child custody case, which she said last July “tied for my worst parental alienation case” ever.

The Tsimhoni children’s parents divorced in 2011, and their mother, Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni, of Bloomfield Hills, was granted full custody.

Their father, Omer Tsimhoni, of West Bloomfield, was granted visitation privileges, but when the children — boys, ages 14 and 11, a girl, 9 — refused to have anything to do with him, he accused his ex-wife of turning them against him and asked the court to grant him full custody.

The two-count complaint filed by the Judicial Tenure Commission on Jan. 14 could end in disciplinary action against Gorcyca.

In court proceedings, she described the children as engaging in cult-like activity, including once when she referenced notorious killer Charles Manson. Further, according to the complaint, she “laughed at the children and was sarcastic;” “failed to act in a patient, dignified and courteous manner;” and made “significant misrepresentations of law and fact.”

Gorcyca has apologized for a “display of frustration,” admitting that she was at times “exasperated” by the case.

Among other issues raised in her filing, Gorcyca accused Fischer of contacting the guardian-ad-litem on the case, William Lansat, to ask about the children’s well being while in their father’s case; for asking Lansat why Gorcyca hadn’t disqualified herself; and for asking Lansat to facilitate a meeting between the children and the Israeli Consul General in Chicago.

» For more allegations in Judge Lisa Gorcyca’s motion, go to The Detroit News.

Catch Up

• Judge Sends Kids to Detention for Refusing Lunch with Dad
• New Twist in Case of Kids Sent to Juvie for Refusing Lunch with Dad
• Dad Seeks Custody of Kids Sent to Detention for Refusing Lunch with Him
• New Attorneys Defend Mom Whose Kids Refused Lunch with Dad
• Kids Who Refused Lunch with Dad Now Living With Him
• Judge in Bitter Custody Dispute Could Recuse Herself
• More Twists Bloomfield Hills Custody Case
• Chief Judge Steps Out of Bitter Child Custody Case
• New Judge Finds No Bias in Bitter Custody Dispute
• Judge Who Cuffed Kids For Missing Lunch With Dad Faces Discipline
• Judge Who Cuffed Kids for Missing Lunch with Dad Disqualifies Herself
• Judge Gets More Time to Respond to Complaint
• 50 Attorneys Sign Statement Supporting Embattled Judge
• Gorcyca Apologizes for ‘Frustration’ in Custody Case
• Mom in Bitter Custody Case Wants Kids’ Guardian Removed
• Judge to Parents in Bitter Custody Dispute: Be Nice
• Tsimhoni Children Get Time With Their Mother