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Wayne County judge accused of making inappropriate comments to prosecutors, attorneys

Not the first time Judge Bruce U. Morrow faces claims of misconduct

DETROIT – A Wayne County judge is under investigation for making inappropriate comments during a murder trial and it’s not the first time he’s gotten himself in trouble.

The most recent complaint from the Judicial Tenure Commission said Judge Bruce Morrow committed two counts of inappropriate use of sexually graphic language and one count of questioning female attorneys who appeared before him about their physical appearance.

The JTC said all of this is conduct unbecoming an officer of the court.

Morrow has been a long fixture of Detroit’s Third Circuit Criminal Court. Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s office filed the original complaint from two different, unidentified female prosecutors who claim Morrow made a habit of speaking in unwelcome sexual tones.

In the first incident, the complaint claims Morrow said this about a prosecutor’s cross examination of a medical examiner: “That the climax of sex is akin to getting the medical examiner to state the cause and manner of death after getting the details of his examination of the body,” and “you want to lead them to the climax of the manner and cause of death.”

The complain said Morrow’s comments caused the victim to feel frozen and afraid to move.

The second count is so sexually explicit, it will not be included.

The third count claims Morrow asked an attorney if she weighed 115 pounds, and when she told him she didn’t know, he allegedly said “Well, I haven’t assessed your muscle mass yet.”

The prosecutors claim the judge was overtly looking at their bodies at the time.

Local 4 reached out repeatedly to Morrow and his attorney to get their side and received no replies.

He has 14 days to file a response with the JTC, who will then appoint a special master to investigate and decide whether a hearing is necessary.

Morrow was suspended in 2014 by the Michigan Supreme Court on 10 counts of alleged judicial misconduct.


About the Authors
Dane Kelly headshot

Dane is a producer and media enthusiast. He previously worked freelance video production and writing jobs in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts. Dane graduated from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.

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