Kilpatrick Case Rolls On

A Wayne County Circuit Court judge will hold a hearing Friday on a lawsuit filed last week by lawyers for embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick that challenges the City Council’s authority to force him from office as he awaits criminal trial on eight felony counts stemming from a 2007 police whistleblower trial.

The council has scheduled public hearings to begin July 7 on forfeiture proceedings, as its lawyer has argued that the legislative body has the power under the city charter to force the mayor to relinquish his post. In filing the lawsuit, Kilpatrick attorney Godfrey Dillard said the removal hearings would be a waste of taxpayer money.

The mayor’s lawsuit would not impact the council’s parallel efforts to convince Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to remove Kilpatrick from office.

The suit could delay the hearings, and it could also make the forfeiture proceedings too costly for the City Council to pursue. The council appropriated $250,000 in the fiscal 2009 budget to investigate Kilpatrick, but the mayor promptly vetoed the item. In recent reports, Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. — who would become mayor if the office is vacant — said the council might not continue its efforts if it proves too costly.

Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty face a total of 12 felony counts that include perjury and misconduct of office stemming from testimony in a 2007 trial. The council has said it was misled into approving $8.4 million in city funds to settle that trial and two other lawsuits as the administration kept secret the truth of the settlement’s confidentiality agreement, which involved dozens of sexually explicit text messages between the mayor and Beatty.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM BOND BUYER