Judge Theresa Brennan, a suspended county judge in Michigan, has now been permanently removed from office and barred from running for judicial office again for six years.
A judge being forced from office isn’t the first time a judge has gotten booted from office for ethical lapses. It isn’t even the first time in Michigan. And there’s life after getting kicked off the bench — Roy Moore manages to keep coming back from repeated expulsions like the anthropomorphized strain of herpes that he is and the rehabilitation of Alex Kozinski that no one asked for appears well underway — yet it feels like Judge Brennan may not be able to mount a comeback after setting something of a land speed record on ethics charges.
How many ethical lapses do you think one judge can be found committing? Because let’s see if she topped it. From Courthouse News Service:
Brennan was found to have not disclosed a romantic relationship with a key witness in a murder trial she presided over….
Did Brennan’s relationship have an impact on the case? “[Brennan] told a court reporter she believed the accused was guilty based on conversations she had with Furlong.” So… yes. The conviction has since been overturned and the guy awaits a new trial.
The judge also failed to disclose a close personal relationship with an attorney who appeared before her in five trials between 2014 and 2016 and denied motions to disqualify herself in those cases.
The cop and an attorney? The only time something like that’s acceptable is if you’re casting a courtroom drama and you’re worried about introducing more characters so they just have to double up and date people at work.
She was also said to be highly abusive to employees as well as attorneys, witnesses and general litigants. Employees were forced to perform personal tasks for her during business hours and also work on her re-election campaign, according to court records.
Just some light election violations and misuse of public resources for good measure.
[Brennan also] did not immediately recuse herself from her own divorce case.
In retrospect, $4 million a month in alimony did sound a little suspicious.
At least there’s not anything else…
She defied an ex-parte motion to preserve evidence for the divorce trial and made false statements under oath when deposed about it. Last December, she was charged with perjury, tampering with evidence and misconduct in office.
We’re all for second chances around here, but maybe Judge Brennan should sit out the next couple years to catch her breath.
Michigan High Court Removes Embattled Judge From Bench [Courthouse News Service]