A state Judicial Qualifications Commission panel has found probable cause to pursue formal charges against Circuit Judge Mark Hulsey.
A seven-page notice of formal charges posted this morning lays out several complaints against Hulsey, including using racist language, disparaging staff attorneys and misusing his judicial assistant’s time.
The accusations include Hulsey:
• Said African-Americans “should go get back on a ship and go back to Africa.”
• Referred to a prior lead staff attorney using two derogatory terms.
• Demeaned female staff attorneys by referring to them as “like cheerleaders who talk during the national anthem.”
• “Unduly burdened” his judicial assistant by making her perform tasks like paying his personal bills, writing personal letters and making personal calls on his behalf. Doing so created an “unhealthy atmosphere” that also led to inefficiencies in the office.
In a statement, the judge denied the allegations, calling them “a poorly kept secret hanging over me like a cloud for months.”
"I am pleased the JQC has concluded its initial investigation, and that I will now have an opportunity to respond to them in a public forum," Hulsey said.
According to the notice of formal charges, Hulsey told his judicial assistant to “tell the truth” when he found out about the state investigation. He also instructed her to make sure she mentioned she didn’t think the judge would ever make a derogatory remark about women or African-Americans.
The document says Hulsey later confronted the judicial assistant about her cooperation with the state inquiry and her apparent refusal to say what he wanted.
The conduct represented interference with the process and the judicial assistant was temporarily reassigned to prevent further interference, the document said.
Even after the inquiry, the document said, Hulsey continued to request and suggest to his new judicial assistant she undertake tasks that are “purely personal in nature.”
He is facing Gerald Wilkerson in the Aug. 30 primary.