A January trial date has been set for former 53rd District Court Judge Theresa Brennan regarding charges brought against her by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.

Brennan appeared this morning for a pretrial hearing at the Judicial Center in Howell. Court records indicate a visiting judge set a trial date of January 13th for Brennan’s case, with no adjournments. The case has been assigned to Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Paul Cusick. Brennan is charged with perjury, misconduct in office, and destroying evidence in relation to her 2016 divorce case. She was bound over to Livingston County Circuit Court last month after a visiting judge found there was enough evidence to send the case to trial.

Genesee County District Court Judge David Guinn declared probable cause for perjury citing conflicting statements from Brennan during her divorce deposition and Judicial Tenure Commission hearing last October regarding the admission of resetting of a protected cell phone. This led into another charge of tampering with evidence, which Guinn also found probable cause for. With the misconduct in office charge, Judge Guinn cited Brennan’s decision to not immediately recuse herself from her own divorce case. Guinn said she delayed on signing the order, and that it is in the court’s belief that she used that time to plot and scheme what to do with the evidence on the phone.

Just two days after Guinn announced his decision on June 26th, the Michigan Supreme Court issued a unanimous memorandum opinion ordering Brennan be removed from the bench, thus suspending her from holding judicial office for six years. (DK)