Former judge accused of abusive behavior — by another former judge

This story was updated Tuesday, Aug. 17, to include reaction from Judge William Collette.

 TUESDAY, Aug. 10 — On the heels of a misdemeanor charge for allegedly assaulting a hostess at a local restaurant in May, former Ingham County Circuit Chief Judge William Collette is also being accused of repeatedly berating a former colleague before he retired from the bench in 2018.

Former Circuit Judge Laura Baird alleged today that Collette had repeatedly intimidated her when the two served together on the bench, to the point where she sought a concealed pistol license to protect herself against him. At the beginning of Baird’s tenure, Collette also developed a habit of publicly berating her in front of colleagues and once cocked his fist back as if he was going to strike, Baird alleged in an interview with City Pulse today.

“My first year on the bench, he was angry at me for something I said at a judge’s meeting, and he pulled his fist back at me,” Baird explained this afternoon. “I hadn’t been there long at the time that it happened. No one said anything. None of the other judges said anything, but three of them later said you better watch out; you better be careful around him. He’s going to hurt you.” 

Collette was arraigned yesterday on a misdemeanor assault and battery charge in 55th District Court after authorities said he pulled the ponytail of a female employee at Dusty’s Cellar in Okemos. Baird said the news of Collette’s alleged abuse encouraged her to speak up today.

Collette, for his part, told WLNS that he tugged on the hostess’ hair to get her attention. Numerous attempts to reach Collette at a number listed in court records were unsuccessful.

In an email to City Pulse today, Collette said to "please print that I never threatened Baird." The retired judge said, though, he "will not discuss the ridiculous charge against me."

Collette’s aggressive behavior continued in emails and meetings, Baird said. Late in her tenure, she said the former judge also lashed out over her position related to a case against the state. That unsolicited lecture devolved into a repetitive rant and continued for an hour, Baird claimed.

“I felt completely unsafe,” she told City Pulse.

Baird also said that she was so concerned about her safety around Collette that she applied for a concealed pistol license to protect herself, though she never actually purchased any firearms.

When Baird stopped at the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office to do the paperwork for the permit, she said that former Undersheriff Allan Spyke questioned why she would seek a permit since carrying a gun seemed to cross with her beliefs on how firearms should be better regulated.

After explaining her fears about Collette, a deputy was assigned to guard her whenever the two were in the same building, she said. Baird worked mostly at the Veteran’s Memorial Courthouse in downtown Lansing. Most of Collette’s cases had been confined to courtrooms in Mason.

Baird said that she had also attempted to seek a resolution with the State Court Administrative Office as well as the Judicial Tenure Commission, but both complaints were rebuffed. 

Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum also told City Pulse that she too voiced concerns about Collette after she spotted him staring at her staff through a window. Some local court officials simply dismissed his behavior as “just ‘Wild Bill,’” Byrum said.

“He would just stand in the hallway and stare at staff through the door,” she added. 

Baird served on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners from 1992 to 1994 and was elected to the State House in 1994 , 1996 and 1998 before she was elected to the Circuit Court in 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2018. She retired last year and was replaced by  Lisa McCormick.

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