Michigan Supreme Court removes Livingston County judge from office.

Byline: Lee Dryden

Citing eight counts of misconduct, the Michigan Supreme Court has unanimously removed a Livingston County judge from office.

The high court issued an opinion in In re Theresa M. Brennan (MiLW 06-100647, 9 pages) on June 28, nine days after hearing oral arguments. The Judicial Tenure Commission recommended Brennan's removal from the bench.

"Effective immediately, we order that respondent, 53rd District Court Judge Theresa M. Brennan, be removed from office," the MSC opinion stated. "In addition, we impose a six-year conditional suspension without pay effective on the date of this decision. Should respondent be elected or appointed to judicial office during that time, respondent 'will nevertheless be debarred from exercising the power and prerogatives of the office until at least the expiration of the suspension.'"

Justice Elizabeth T. Clement, joined by Justice Megan K. Cavanagh, concurred with the decision to remove Brennan but expressed concerns about the court's authority to also impose a conditional suspension.

In a separate criminal matter, Brennan faces trial on charges of perjury and destroying evidence in her divorce case.

Brennan had been a judge since 2005. Her term would have expired at the end of 2020.

Misconduct alleged in the second amended complaint and cited in the high court opinion includes Brennan's failure to disclose the extent of her relationship with a detective who was a witness in the People v. Kowalski murder case and her failure to disclose the extent of her relationship with an attorney in several cases over which Brennan presided.

The opinion stated that Brennan "failed to immediately disqualify herself from her own divorce proceeding and destroyed evidence in that divorce proceeding even though she knew that her then-estranged husband had filed an ex parte motion for a mutual restraining order regarding the duty to preserve evidence."

It also stated that Brennan "made false statements (a) during court proceedings over which she presided, (b) to the commission while under oath during these proceedings, and (c) while testifying at her deposition under oath in her divorce proceeding."

Other misconduct cited in the opinion alleged that Brennan was "persistently impatient, undignified, and discourteous to those appearing before her," required staff members to perform personal tasks during work hours, allowed her staff to work on her 2014 judicial campaign during work hours, and improperly...

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