WARSHAWSKY - DRUG MONEY BEHIND ALLEGATIONS

Former Van Buren Judge Wants To Return To Visiting Post In Oakland County

Embattled former Van Buren County Judge Meyer Warshawsky said drug money is
behind allegations of wrongdoing in Oakland County that resulted in his
removal from the bench this week.

The retired Van Buren County District Court judge was placed on leave from
his post as an Oakland County visiting judge after allegations surfaced that
he eavesdropped on juries and gave favorable treatment to prosecutors in
drug cases.

Warshawsky, who handles most of Oakland County's drug-related cases, denied
the allegations and said he's looking forward to returning to the job once
the investigation is completed.

"Maybe the good that will come out of this is that people will know that we
need people of courage to stand up to these things and hopefully do
something about the drug menace in our country," Warshawsky said Friday.

A court clerk told Oakland County authorities Warshawsky conspired with the
Oakland County prosecuting attorney's office to ensure drug convictions. The
clerk also alleged the judge listened to juror deliberations and asked
female jurors out for drinks, according to The Associated Press.

The Michigan Attorney General's office, the Michigan State Police and the
FBI are looking into the claims. Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca has
said his office will fully cooperate with the investigation.

"In my humble opinion I do good work and maybe the drug dealers don't like
having me there," said Warshawsky, who still lives in South Haven. "That's
all I do five days a week is drug cases."

Warshawsky alleges that Elbert Hatchett, the attorney representing the court
clerk who raised the allegations with Oakland County Chief Judge Barry
Howard, was criminally involved with drug money and had spent time in prison
because of such charges.

Hatchett was charged with tax evasion in 1988 and was sentenced in 1989 to
three years in prison. He served 18 months of that sentence. Hatchett said
the tax-evasion charges had nothing to do with drug money and that he's
never been accused of, charged with or convicted of any drug-related
charges.

Warshawsky has been a visiting judge in Oakland County since he was forced
to retire from his elected post as a Van Buren County Circuit Court judge in
1996. Michigan law prohibits a person over age 70 from running for a
judicial post, but it allows appointment of visiting judges regardless of
age.

"I was downsized because I couldn't run again," Warshawsky said. "I was
unemployed for two days, and I went to Oakland County for two months and
have been there for four years.

"They didn't keep me there because of my good looks. They kept me there
because of the quality of my work, and the sincerity and my love of the
law."

Hatchett said he has no personal vendetta against Warshawsky and that he
just wants a fair trial for those who come into the courtroom.

"In my opinion, he was basically a prosecutor masked as a judge, and I told
the presiding judge of that," Hatchett said.

Hatchett said he hasn't tried a case in front of Warshawsky since he filed a
complaint in 1998 that, among other things, alleged bias toward the
prosecution and racism.

"He made a racist comment to me," said Hatchett, who is black. "He called me
a boy. The behavior toward me was outrageous."

In a 1998 letter to then-Chief Judge Edward Sosnick, Hatchett said
Warshawsky was either senile or bent on helping the prosecution get a
conviction.

"He was never an unbiased, neutral judge," Hatchett said Friday.

The Oakland Press of Pontiac reported Friday that dozens of felony
convictions could be at risk of being thrown out if the allegations against
Warshawsky and unnamed members of the prosecutor's office prove true. The
paper quoted one federal lawman and an attorney who expressed concern about
what the allegations could mean for Oakland County cases.

In Van Buren County, Prosecutor Juris Kaps said the courthouse has been
abuzz about the allegations, but he was not worried about the probe into
Warshawsky's alleged misconduct reaching back to the Paw Paw courthouse.

While Van Buren prosecutors and Warshawsky often had major differences in
opinion about cases, Kaps said he knows of no instance of any criminal
wrongdoing or judicial misconduct by the judge.