Two elected metro Detroit judges, 36th District Judge Demetria Brue and 46th District Judge Debra Nance, are now publicly fighting to keep their jobs after misconduct cases stemming from a 2019 dispute over a $23 bike rental on Mackinac Island. The long-simmering matter moved into the spotlight this week when it reached the oral-argument stage before the state Judicial Tenure Commission on Monday.
The controversy dates back to an August 20, 2019 exchange at a Main Street bike shop, where the judges say a rental bike malfunctioned and a simple request for a small refund or discount spiraled into a heated confrontation. As reported by the Detroit Free Press, that argument over $23 eventually grew into a formal misconduct probe, complete with claims of assault and sharply conflicting stories told to investigators. Both judges deny any misconduct and say they are prepared to defend their actions before the commission.
According to documents filed with the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission, Formal Complaint 105 against Brue was instituted November 28, 2022, and Formal Complaint 106 against Nance on December 19, 2022, tracing the controversy to the August 20, 2019 conference. The filings describe store owner Ira Green reviewing security footage with officers and accuse Brue of reaching across the counter to grab a receipt, then later making an unfounded assault claim. Disciplinary counsel argues that the video and witness testimony undercut key parts of both judges’ accounts and that inconsistencies in their statements are at the heart of the charges…