Former Livingston County Judge Theresa Brennan was sentenced Friday after she pleaded guilty to perjury in December.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Paul Cusick sentenced Brennan to six months in jail followed by 18 months of probation. She is required to do 200 hours of community service.
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Brennan was emotional while giving her statement to the court ahead of the sentencing.
“Your honor, I have struggled with how to convey to you my remorse and shame that I feel because of what I’ve done,” she said. “I think that it’s important that the public know I have taken it so seriously.”
Brennan was removed from the bench in June and prohibited from seeking the same office for six years by the Michigan Supreme Court. Her license was later suspended.
The Judicial Tenure Commission revealed a laundry list of problematic charges against Brennan. They included misconduct in office, conduct clearly prejudicial to the administration of justice, and failure to respect and observe the law.
The list comes largely from the murder trial of Jerome Kowalski, who is serving a life sentence after his conviction. The case was brought to trial mainly because of Michigan State Police investigator Sean Furlong.
The Judicial Tenure Commission found Furlong and Brennan were carrying on an affair during the trial, and when asked to remove herself from the case, Brennan refused.
Misconduct in office and tampering with evidence charges against Brennan were dropped as part of her plea.