Judge Berates 72-Year-Old Cancer Patient for Not Cleaning Weeds Near House

A Michigan judge has gone viral after she was seen on video berating an elderly cancer patient for not cleaning the weeds near his house.

As seen in January 10 Zoom footage of the trial, obtained and then re-posted by Instagram account @crimeinthed_detroit, Burhan Chowdhury, 72, appeared in virtual court after he was cited last year for allowing the weeds surrounding his house to become unkempt.

“You have a ticket for August 2, 2021, for failing to keep the walkway, sidewalk, or alley clear of weeds or other nuisance vegetation,” 31st District Judge Alexis Krot said while the court showed a photo of the house. “You can plead responsible, responsible with an explanation, or not responsible.”

While explaining his case, Burhan said he is a cancer patient who is “very weak” and “too old” to clean the outside of his property.

“He was sick,” son Shibbir, who sat beside his father, added.

However, the judge did not buy Burhan’s reason, and exclaimed, “You should be ashamed of yourself! If I could give you jail time on this, I would.”

The judge ended up fining Burhan $100, saying, “You better get that cleaned up. That is totally inappropriate.”

When Shibbir asked the judge if the fine was “forgivable, because my father is currently sick,” and explained that he had since helped his dad pull out the weeds, the judge shouted, “Do you see that photo?! That is shameful! Shameful! The neighbors should not have to look at that. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

While explaining their situation one last time, the judge countered, “... you’re going to jail.”

Speaking to ClickonDetroit this week, Shibbir said his father had been diagnosed with cancer in the lymph nodes in 2019, and that the treatments have inhibited his mobility. Since Burhan’s diagnosis, Shibbir says he and his mother have been doing their best to maintain the property.

“I usually take care of the stuff in the backyard and everything, but that time I was out of the country,” Shibbir explained.

While conceding that a city ordinance was violated, Shibbir confirmed that the weeds have since been cleared, and that the family intends to pay the fine.

“[These were] mistakes [that] I should have taken care of,” he said.

However, he believes the judge “should have [spoken to] my father more politely.”

Recently, a change.org petition was created to have the city of Hamtramck remove Judge Krot, alleging “she has a history of being bigoted to immigrants.”

“The judge, Alexis G. Krot, shamed [Burhan], spoke over him, and told him he could not use cancer as an excuse. She has a history of being bigoted to immigrants. We’re calling for action from the city of Hamtramck to remove Alexis Krot as a judge!” the page read.