A local lawmaker plans to introduce an impeachment resolution today against 53rd District Court Judge Theresa Brennan, who is accused of corruption in office and perjury.

State Representative Lana Theis announced in August she was considering such a resolution that could ultimately remove Brennan from the bench. Theis said, while a rarely used procedure, it seemed to be fitting in this case as the investigation by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission began over 18 months ago but it wasn’t up until about three months ago that Brennan finally had her caseload removed and re-assigned to a visiting judge. She says Brennan is now getting paid to sit at home and do nothing while taxpayers are now paying a visiting judge to hear all of her cases.

The Judicial Tenure Commission complaint stems from Brennan’s relationship with former Michigan State Police Detective Sean Furlong, who served as the chief prosecution witness during the 2013 double murder trial of Jerome Kowalski. Brennan presided over the trial that resulted in Kowalski’s conviction and life sentence. Brennan and Furlong maintain they had a friendship that morphed into an affair but claim it began after the trial. Testimony and documents from Brennan’s 2017 divorce indicate the relationship began long before Kowalski’s trial.

The JTC hearing into its complaint against Brennan will commence October 1st. The case will be heard at the 16th District Court in Livonia, a decision made to ensure there is no conflict of interest. A Michigan State Police criminal investigation also remains active.

Meghan Reckling, a Senior Advisor for Theis, told WHMI that as they have dug through thousands of pages of documents, they have not found any additional impeachable information besides what was already included in the information from the Judicial Tenure Commission complaint and that is what will be included in the impeachment resolution language. (JK)