Staff Reporter: A US judge has apologized to a Bangladeshi immigrant living in the United States. Burhan Chowdhury, an expatriate living in the state of Michigan, was ridiculed and fined by District Court Judge Alexis G. Krot for failing to clear the overgrown weeds near his home due to a long history of cancer. She went on leave after mocking Burhan Chowdhury, 72, during the January 10 hearing. Returning on Tuesday (January 18), She admitted her mistake
and said ‘I made a mistake.’
Krot said in a statement Tuesday. “I acted intemperately. I’m very embarrassed that I did so. I apologize to the person who appeared before me and to our entire community for having failed to meet the high standards that we expect of our judicial officers, and that I expect of myself.”
Krot said she reported herself to a state commission that looks into judicial misconduct. Footage of the proceeding when the irate judge ordered Chowdhury to pay a $100 fine went viral last week.
“I had no legal duty to report myself to the commission,” she said. “But I did so because, like apologizing to the community, it was the right thing to do. I will continue to hold myself to the standards I set for others.”
The abrupt about-face comes after more than 230,000 people signed an online petition demanding Krot be ousted from the bench.
“The judge, Alexis G. Krot, shamed him, spoke over him, and told him he could not use cancer as an excuse,” according to the petition, which alleged the judge has a history of being bigoted toward immigrants.
Chowdhury is an immigrant from Bangladesh. More than 41% of residents in Hamtramck, about six miles north of Detroit, are immigrants, the newspaper reported.
Chowdhury and his son, Shibbir, 33, who reportedly paid his father’s fine, could not be reached for comment Thursday, according to the newspaper.
Chowdhury, who fell behind on maintenance of his yard after being diagnosed with lymphoma in 2019, got a ticket in August. Krot went off during the Jan. 10 hearing, telling the cancer survivor to take immediate action.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Krot told him. “If I could give you jail time on this, I would. You’ve got to get that cleaned up. That is totally inappropriate.”
BP/SM
