Nation IN BRIEF : MICHIGAN : Kevorkian Judge to Stay on Case

A judge who once revoked Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s bond for showing “utter contempt” of Michigan’s ban on assisted suicide refused to remove himself from the case despite defense claims he was “litigating morality.” Geoffrey Fieger told Detroit Recorder’s Court Judge Thomas E. Jackson that he believes that the judge looked upon his client as a “deeply villainous man that needed to be taught a lesson.” Kevorkian is charged with violating the ban in the deaths of Thomas Hyde, who committed suicide Aug. 4, and Merian Frederick, who committed suicide Oct. 22.