6 Michigan judges removed in the last decade

Livingston County Judge Theresa Brennan's ousting in June 2019 marked a rare public moment of discipline for a judge.

The Michigan Supreme Court has removed 17 judges in the 51 years since the Judicial Tenure Commission, or JTC, was created and charged with investigating complaints against the judiciary.

Six of the removals, including Brennan, have occurred in the last decade, an MLive review of JTC annual reports shows. Two others left office amid public disciplinary proceedings - one landing in federal prison.

Of the six formally removed, one was accused of an affair with a litigant and another was accused of mental illness. All of them were deemed unfit to be deciders of justice.

Former Jackson County District Judge James Justin gives last comments before being sentenced at the Ingham County Circuit Court on Wednesday, March 13, 2013. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

Jackson County Judge James Justin

Jackson County's 12th District Court Judge James Justin “failed to follow the law, apparently believing that it simply did not apply to him," the Michigan Supreme Court found.

They removed him in January 2012.

Justin dismissed traffic tickets for himself, his wife and his staff, but also had an extensive history of other bad behavior, justices said.

He also prevented the transmission of or altered court information legally required to be given to the Michigan Secretary of State, dismissed cases without conducting hearings or involving prosecutors, failed to follow plea agreements and made false statements to the commission, the court found.

Following his ousting, Justin was sentenced to 18 months of probation on criminal charges for willful neglect of duty.

The Judicial Tenure Commission offices in the Cadillac Place, where State of Michigan offices are held, in Detroit's New Center, Aug. 5, 2019. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

Inkster Judge Sylvia James

Inkster's 22nd District Court Judge Sylvia James misused funds meant for crime victims, the Michigan Supreme Court found.

As such, James was removed in July 2012.

James spent funds intended for the court's Community Service Program, a portion of which is marked for crime victim restitution, on travel, advertising and donations to charities of James' choice, MLive previously reported.

"Many of these expenditures were for advertisements that promoted the judge, prominently displaying her picture and only tangentially mentioning the CSP," according to the opinion.

In addition, the court found she implemented a dress code meant to keep revealing clothing and clothing suggestive of gang connections out of the court, but it inappropriately denied some visitors access to the court.

She also rehired an unqualified magistrate who then erroneously signed over 15,000 bench warrants, hired and gave raises to her niece, and lied under oath, it found.

The Judicial Tenure Commission's 2019 photo inside their offices in the Cadillac Place, where State of Michigan offices are held, in Detroit's New Center, Aug. 5, 2019. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

Wayne County Judge Deborah Ross Adams

The JTC recommended a 180-day suspension for Wayne County's 3rd Circuit Court Judge Deborah Ross Adams. The Michigan Supreme Court removed her from office instead.

Adams came under scrutiny during her divorce, which began in 2009, MLive previously reported. 

She inappropriately called the office of the judge handling the case - instead of having her lawyer do so - to request an adjournment and later lied about it, the Michigan Supreme Court determined. She was also accused of forgery, for sending communications to her ex-husband's attorney and filing a motion in her attorney's name.

The Michigan Supreme court found that her deeds warranted a more severe punishment and removed her from office in June 2013.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Wade McCree, left, sits with his attorney Brian Einhorn and Colleen Burke during a Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission hearing for McCree at Washtenaw Circuit Court in Ann Arbor on Monday, May 20, 2013 in Ann Arbor. McCree, accused of having an affair, faces Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission hearings on charges of judicial misconduct. The commission says McCree lied during the agency's ethics investigation and falsely reported to prosecutors that the woman who disclosed the affair was stalking him. (AP Photo/Detroit News, David Coates, Pool)

Wayne County Judge Wade H. McCree

When Wayne County's 3rd Circuit Court Judge Wade H. McCree got in trouble for sending a shirtless photo to a court employee, he famously told a news reporter "no shame to my game."

He also feigned taking off his shirt, according to news reports of the time.

He was publicly censured by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2012.

Years later, the son of the first black judge on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would be ousted for something else - an affair with a woman who appeared before him in a child support case.

McCree was removed from office in March 2014 following the scandal and has been barred from taking the bench until 2021.

The state Supreme Court determined McCree discussed possible punishment for the father of the woman's child with her, had intercourse in his chambers, snuck a cell phone in through the employee entrance for her and lied when he finally recused himself from the case.

He also made false claims that the woman was stalking and trying to extort money from him, sent derogatory texts from the bench about those who appeared before him, and lied under oath, according to the opinion

An information sheet for the Judicial Tenure Commission. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

Wayne County Judge Brenda K. Sanders

Wayne County's 36th District Court Judge Brenda K. Sanders was removed in July 2015 after concerns were raised about her mental health when she sent a conspiracy- filled letter to then-U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade.

The letter requested an investigation into the deaths of two judges who she said died suddenly after speaking out about wrongs in the court, MLive previously reported. She also claimed a newspaper tried to name her as a suspect in the deaths and accused the Republican Party and Michigan Supreme Court of trying to evict her.

Sanders was also accused taking a long-term leave of absence for knee surgeries that were never performed and making false representations to the JTC.

She refused psychiatric examinations but was deemed by a doctor to have a psychotic disorder.

Sanders was previously suspended in 2010 for acting as her own campaign treasurer and continuing a campaign for mayor as an elected judge.

In this Oct. 1, 2018 photo, Livingston County Judge Theresa Brennan sits during her judicial misconduct proceeding in Livonia, Mich. Brennan has been ordered to trial on criminal charges related to her divorce. The decision Wednesday, June 26, 2019, came a week after the Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments about removing Brennan from the bench in a separate matter. (Jose Juarez/Detroit News via AP)

Livingston County Judge Theresa Brennan 

Livingston County's 53rd District Court Judge Theresa Brennan became the latest judge removed from office in June 2019.

Her downfall began during her own divorce proceedings in 2017 when an accusation arose publicly that she'd had an affair with a lead detective in a double-homicide case, for which a man was sentenced to life in prison.

Though Brennan fought the accusation, the Michigan Supreme Court found Brennan failed to disclose the extent of the relationship during the trial.

But that wasn't Brennan's only mistake.

"We are not often confronted with the multifarious acts of misconduct that are present in this case," justices said in a footnote of the decision. "The individual findings of misconduct range from those warranting the most severe sanction of removal (such as lying under oath) to those that are still unacceptable, but might warrant a lesser sanction (such as respondent’s improper demeanor on the bench)."

Brennan took multiple days to disqualify herself from her own divorce case, deleted data from a phone despite a filing to preserve evidence and interrupted depositions in the divorce, according to the opinion.

She also improperly had her court staff work on her 2014 campaign and made false statements to the commission and in her divorce.

She also was "persistently impatient, undignified, and discourteous to those appearing before her," the court found.

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6 Michigan judges removed in the last decade