District judge candidate Hanson-Grimes no longer employed by county

The Tecumseh Herald received a news tip on Thursday, Nov. 3 regarding Ashley Hanson-Grimes, who is running against Lenawee County District Judge Todd M. Morgan in the November 8 election to fill an unexpired term ending January 1, 2027. Hanson-Grimes, the juvenile court referee for Lenawee County Juvenile Court, was alleged to have been the subject of a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint. 

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.

The Herald reached Hanson-Grimes by telephone at 4:30 p.m. on November 3. When asked if she had been relieved of her duties at the courthouse after a complaint had been filed against her, Hanson-Grimes said, “To my knowledge that has not happened.”

“I don’t even know what to say,” she said. “I appreciate you calling me, but as of this conversation none of what you have said is true.”

On Friday, Nov. 4, County Administrator Kim Murphy stated, “Ms. Ashley Hanson-Grimes is no longer employed with Lenawee County as a Juvenile Court Referee effective November 3, 2022.”

As juvenile court referee, Hanson-Grimes presided over juvenile delinquency and child welfare hearings and was a team defense attorney for Lenawee County Sobriety Court and Enhanced Treatment Court. She practices law in an office in Adrian, focusing on criminal and family law and estate planning.

A member of the executive board and immediate past board president of Associated Charities of Lenawee County, she also serves on the board of Maurice Spear Campus, is a member of Civitan of Lenawee, the Lenawee County League of Women Voters, the Lenawee County Conservation League, and the Agricultural Society of Lenawee County. 

Judge Todd Morgan worked as an attorney in the Lenawee County Public Defender’s Office before being appointed to the district court by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The appointment followed Judge Jonathan L. Poer’s retirement in January. Morgan was sworn in as district court judge in April.