Judge reprimanded for cellphone photo

DETROIT (AP) -- A Detroit judge who sent a shirtless photo of himself to a female court employee and bragged about his buff image on television "brought shame" to the judiciary, the Michigan Supreme Court said Wednesday. The court reprimanded Wayne County Circuit Judge Wade McCree, who accepted the public censure without a fight months after apologizing. McCree sent a cellphone photo of himself to a female sheriff's officer in 2011. It shows a very fit judge from the waist up and was taken a year earlier after he had finished a half marathon. The officer kept it to motivate herself to improve her workouts, but her husband provided a copy to WJBK-TV reporter Charlie LeDuff, according to the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission, which investigated. McCree was proud of the photo and told LeDuff in April: "No shame in my game." The Supreme Court voted 6-0 to accept the Tenure Commission's recommendation to close the case with a censure. McCree "conducted himself in a flippant manner and did not give the interview the seriousness he should have. As a result, he brought shame and obloquy to the judiciary," the court said. The judge issued a statement last spring, saying he had "made an extremely serious error in judgment." Published: Fri, Oct 26, 2012