A judge from Michigan is possibly the worst judge ever. At least, she is the worst judge I have ever been in front of. And I am not alone in thinking that. www.lehtoslaw.com
Former Livingston County District Judge Theresa Brennan was disbarred this week, more than a year after pleading guilty to a perjury charge stemming from a lengthy ethics investigation. 2/26/21
Just think of how many lives this woman has ruined over the years. This woman never deserves to see the light of day. A corrupt govt agent can do more harm than any criminal could ever want to do.
Follow up 2019-12-10 In June 2019, Judge Brennan was removed from office. Recently she pleaded guilty to perjury, a 15 year felony, and as of this writing is awaiting sentencing.
What I found shocking is how it apparently took years for anything to happen. The absusive behavior alone should've been enough to disbarr her. And like if an appeals court notices such behavior from a judge why aren't the investigations launched? Like that stuff should happen automatically or constantly. Like a board constantly overseeing all judges. Checking their behavior, looking for patterns, watching out for appeals that go through, etc. etc.
Judge Dan L Flannel is the worst Judge I’ve ever seen. In the early 90s I was going through a custody fight with my ex-wife because she wanted to remove them from the state. After the children had lived with me for a year we ended up in court over the manner. Even though I proved she had a very unstable, transient lifestyle, abusive relationships (multiple marriages and divorces) & there was a good probability that the girls would not stay anywhere for long because the judge had gotten a bad cruise through my fathers travel agency he found in favor of my ex. Months later the kids were back with me & evidence of sexual abuse surfaced. When we took the matter back to court he AGAIN ruled in her favor. All over a personal grudge. Eventually the girls came to live with me & to this day if he sees me he will avoid me because he knows I’ll put him in ICU for allowing my children to be sexually abused.
So, if she's convicted can you then file a class action suit against her for your loss of revenue due to the cases you had to pass on because of her abusive behavior?
Very good video! I watched the video when she was being sentence and she's weeping about how she lost everything. Then when you hear all this about her behavior you lose any amount of sympathy you may've had. Glad she's off the bench.
The other day, I heard someone talking about a prominent politician resigning, and how when allegations came out against him, people had come out of the woodwork to accuse him of all sorts of misbehavior, tiny and large, to bring him down. This radio show host went on to say that when you are attacked, people will come out of the woodwork -- and what they will do will depend on how you treated people throughout your life. If you've *generally* treated people with respect, they'll say things like "I don't know about these allegations, but when I had cancer, he helped me out" or "when I was a waiter for him in a restaurant, he gave me a good tip" ... but if you've *generally* treated people with disrespect, they'll come out and share stories about that, trying to pull you down. (He then added that you should never assume someone is "beneath respect", because that waiter or mail clerk may very well be your boss some day.) For this particular politician, it was pretty clear he didn't treat *anyone* with respect. It's clear that this judge is in the same boat.
As a lawyer with over 30 years in practice, and having met a few "bad judges" in my career, I thought we had the "Worst Judge Trophy" secure. I now concede. I suspect the trophy will be rest in Michigan for at least a century, if not forever. Good presentation (though it gave me a sore neck...shaking my head in disbelief too many times) :)
The quick google search instantly informed me that 5 months after this video she was removed from the bench. A year after this video sentenced to 6 months in jail for perjury. Yikes.
I was put on a jury covering a murder case. After the jury panel was named the judge cleared the room. Only the prosecutor, the defense, judge, jury and the arresting officer remained. No other court officers, no one. The judge politely ask if anyone, on the jury, has a problem "letting the defendant go" due to a procedural issue? One juror said what's the problem? Judge, The officer may have, in his report, said the defendant committed murder by shooting the man with the knife that was confiscated from the defendant. Judge, And no one caught it until now.
Okay... here's my bet. She is removed from the bench, is disbarred, is sentenced to jail (whether she actually goes to prison is another matter) and is so heavily fined that she is broke.
Regular (not minimum-security, white-collar prison but the regular one) would probably be enough IMO. I don't even want to try to imagine what would happen to a judge in prison. Prisons are full of psychopaths and every single criminal in prison was put there by some judge. Some of them probably fantasize about getting even.
Now every case she ever presided over should be overturned, or at least retried. But good luck with that. The same thing should apply to cops who get caught planting evidence, but that never happens either.
Despite what others may say, your point is spot on. IMHO, every one of her cases should get reviewed by a "special master" who has broad authority to review cases for judicial wrongdoing or "even the appearance of evil", and they should re-tried or whatever else is needed to restore the judicial integrity of that court.
I dated a relative of hers after high school and was friends with the brother of the girl I dated because he and I were in the same grade. The whole family is like this to one degree or another from what I’ve experienced.
@Steve Lehto Not sure if I commented on this before, but we have a serious corrupt judge in CA, and it's mere Impossible to get one removed from the bench over here. I do my own cases. I have never lost a civil case, but have lost two small claims. First case I lost, my fault. I procrastinated so long, that by time the case was heard, I found out I sued the wrong people, and statute of limitations had run out to go after the correct ones, which was my past employer. I may have never been able to sue my employer, but at least had the satisfaction of finding out they got fined in the millions for stealing insurance money taken from employees and not paying the insurance companies they were supposed to pay. The other fines were for not paying overtime, and not allowing lunch breaks. My second lost case, was a lost cause no matter what I did and this judge needs to be removed from the bench. Not because what he did with my case, but for the one prior to and after mine was heard. That day I learned there are corrupt judges, as I had just met my first, and really have no clue, what court he served in, as I never seen the guy again. He was a fill in. Here is what happened: Judge I never seen starts calling cases, and a man who got stiffed for 10 non payday loans, filed 10 cases. In case you don't know this, and hate pay day loan companies, that man was as much a victim as the defendants. You see, payday loans, the companys that give them, don't use their own money. They gamble with other people's money. They get their money by looking over court records for paid judgements, people who collected for injury, divorces, anyone with big payouts. They tell these winners that they can double their funds, so these naive people, like the plaintiff I'm about to tell you about, send them a chunk of their winnings, and this is what gets loaned out without a credit check. When they default, they tell the person that gave them the money that they are sorry, they were unable to collect, and give them a printout of all who did not pay, which was what this plaintiff used at court to sue 10 different people. I watch as the judge calls the plaintiff, says "Oh, a loan company. You got unclean hands" The judge then says he only has 4 cases, not 10, and rules a judgement against the plaintiff, so now not only did he lose all those funds, he now has to pay each person about 1k each. It doesn't end there either. He then proceeds to tell the plaintiff that he needs to talk with the clerks office, and see what happened with the other 6 cases, and tells him he needs to go on Wednesdays, saying that's the only day they are open. Funny thing is, Wednesday is the only day during the week that the clerks office is actually closed. That got my attention, and I almost tried to correct the judge, but something screamed in my head, to keep my mouth shut. He dismisses the plaintiff. Now he calls my case, and here is where I know I have no chance of winning. Judge Immediately greets the defendant, and they talk. I had no clue these two were great friends. Judge had no problem talking in the courtroom, and letting others know. He then refused to hear my case, and closes it, and dismisses me, making fun of me as I get my power chair packed up to go. I got copies of phone records, and found two calls hours prior for that day, to the defendant. This I got weeks later. Let's get back to where Im packing up. The judge looks around the courtroom, then brings up six folders from under his bench, and proceeds to call the plaintiff. The same plaintiff he dismissed prior to my case that already has 4k in judgements. The judge had the 6 missing cases all along. To my surprise, one defendant was actually present, and pulled a hardship story, with the waterworks. I know it was fake, because she was next to me earlier, bragging on how she will get out of not paying her loan. Judge calls the plaintiff, then defaults him as a no show, and awards each of those 6 cases a 2k judgement. That poor guy he dismissed, thinks he only has to pay 4k. Wait till he gets the postcard with the additional 12k!!! This is very bad, because in CA small claims, there is no appeal process. All cases are final. I stopped using that court in fear of getting him again. The only good thing, when I got home, found out my power chair go pro had captured the whole thing, so made copy, and sent memory out of state so it can't be destroyed. I did this in case I got any surprise judgements after I left. If you check RU-vid, there are actual attorneys who post about this very same judge. I don't name him, as I don't want his attention on me. The posters, they are actual attorneys, and one of them was actually arrested by this judge, for being caught filming him publicly from the sidewalk, commiting an actual felony. She posted the video too, but it never went viral. It's funny how posts I want viral never happen, but ones I can care less about do😂
She got 6 months jail (released a little early) 18 months probation. And in Feb. 2021 she was disbarrred. Oh and the homicide case got a new trial. That is what I found lol
Isn't it glaring how poor the Court System is in that jurisdiction to allow this kind of crap to continue year after year after year after year. Who was worse? - this judge or the people that did not act when they should have acted years ago?
I just wanted you to know that I have been watching a few of your videos and I truly enjoy them. You keep making me smile every time you laugh while you are explaining the law. Thank you for being transparent with a giggle. 😊
Great news for you. Soon she gets sentenced, just like all criminals. CBS62 Detroit, December 3, 2019 BRIGHTON, Mich. (AP) - Theresa Brennan, a former judge from Brighton who was removed from office for ethics violations has pleaded guilty to perjury during her divorce case. The attorney general’s office says two charges were dropped as part of a deal Tuesday with Theresa Brennan. She was a judge in Livingston County for 14 years until she was removed in June by the Michigan Supreme Court. .. ...Separately, Brennan was accused of many ethics violations in how she ran her office as well as for a relationship with a state police detective during a murder trial. [The accused in that gets a new trial].
In October of 1992, I served as a juror on a murder case in the Oakland County Circuit Court. The judge in that case was Gene Schnelz. I'm guessing you might know him. I'm not a lawyer, so I can't comment on how he handled the case from a technical perspective. But I was really impressed on how this judge ran his courtroom, and how he interacted with all involved in the case. This was especially true in the case of the jurors. Even after the trial ended, the judge offered to invite both the prosecutor and the defense attorneys into the jury room if we wanted to ask any questions. All twelve of us stayed and ask questions. About a week after the case ended, I got a thank you letter signed by the judge, for serving as a juror. I'm pretty sure he no longer sits on that court, but if you knew this judge I would be interested in what you think of him.
You said to Google this judge, so I did, she was disbarred in 2021, convicted of a felony and she spent 6 months in prison. Hopefully this means she can't be a judge anymore, but all I can say about that is "let's hope".
Brennan got a light sentence she really should have received much more, this is the AG Dept of MI helping her out,a similar case was Judge T Hunter of similar behaviour she got 6 mos too,was dragged out of court and neither served 6mos both were paroled at 13weeks,Institutized Favoritism at play here Methinks!
Год назад
She only served 4, was released early. ADD: she was convicted of a felony, *then* disbarred (felony convictions are automatic disbarments in at least some states). And no, she can't be a judge anymore without a law license.
The judge I went before is the worst. I went to jury duty for the first time in my 55 years on this planet. Long story short, I got picked for a jury and during our first lunch break I called my wife. I was joking with her about an episode of the ADDams Family that I watched the night before. The defense attorney's aide who I found out later from my attorney had arrests in Minnesota for FRAUD and in New Mexico for assault. Anyway, she called the lawyer to the area of the courthouse I was at and they heard me talking to my wife and laughing about the jokes I was making basically saying this courtroom was being run like the judge ran his courtroom on the Addams Family. They told the judge I was talking about the actual case and when I went back the judge dismissed the other jurors and told me to stay. I had no idea what was going on and he proceeded to tell me he was holding me in criminal contempt of court. I tried telling him I wasn't talking about the case and he just said to come back in a week which I did and at that time he read me the charges and gave me another week to get a lawyer. My lawyer basically told me even if I didn't talk about the case they were making n example out of me for even joking about it. But it got more serious because the defense attorney told the judge I called him a bumbling fucking idiot which wasn't true. Plus, these people only heard one side of the conversation and this judge took the defense attorney and her derelict aide's word for it. My attorney said that the judge should recuse himself because of the comments that I supposedly made about him but the judge refused. My attorney said his failure to recuse himself would give me grounds for appeal. So after a brief chat in private the judge had with my attorney I was told to just plead guilty and apologize for talking about the case and I would be let go with a $100 fine. Otherwise, I was looking at 6 months in jail and a $1000 fine. So don't tell me about bad judges, I met the worst judge. JUST and FYI, the courtroom was packed the day I went there and I asked my attorney why so many people were here and was it for a big case. He told me they were there for my case because I am the first juror in Florida to get a contempt of court charge. Hows that for a story Steve? Just started watching your pods and I enjoy them very much. Feel free to run this one by ur followers
This is a good example of why our system does not work. Her unethical conduct had been going on for over 20 years I presume the detective is only reprimanded. Both had friends working in the government that knew of the goings on and nothing happened till the husband made waves in the divorce. Every company I worked for if one was caught lying, stealing or berating a customer or staff you would be fired that day. Maybe a second chance but that's likely the last chance. The private sector works government does not.
This video was Feb 24, 2019. This is from _Livingston Daily,_ Feb 26, 2021 (two years later): _"Former Livingston County District Judge Theresa Brennan was disbarred this week, more than a year after pleading guilty to a perjury charge stemming from a lengthy ethics investigation._ _"Brennan consented to the disciplinary action by the state Attorney Discipline Board, acknowledging the felony conviction._ _"Former Livingston County Judge Theresa Brennan becomes emotional while addressing the court during her sentencing on Friday, Jan. 17, 2020, in Howell. Brennan was sentenced to six months in jail._ _"Brennan was removed from the bench in June 2019 after the state Supreme Court found she committed eight instances of misconduct." ..._ Theresa Brennan was first appointed as District Judge by Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2005.
OTOH, we’re often clueless about what's really going on with people. I once lambasted a judicial candidate in various online forums, for her very bad behavior. I though her behavior was utterly inexcusable, and disqualifying for the office she sought. It turned out she had a brain tumor. Boy oh boy did I feel like a jerk.
So...a judge commits three felonious acts that are easy to prove and the prosecutors offer a plea deal that results in two of the charges dropped, plead guilty to one felony and get a six month sentence. It seems that there are two court systems...one for THEM and one for us, both of which appear to work in their favor. Betrayal of the public trust by a person of such authority should carry a harsher sentence. Good video Steve.
googled her, and got "Former judge Theresa Brennan sentenced to 6 months in jail for perjury" watched her crying her eyes out. Dont have much sympathy though
Somebody needs to investigate 'how she got to be a Judge'. I'll bet that there is juicy story hiding in those facts too. I'll bet that there is a State or Federal Politician involved.
I did... political payback by former governor Jennifer Grantham (D), who then went on to serve on Obama's transition team and was appointed 16th United States Secretary of Energy by Biden.
It should NEVER take this much to get rid of a sick, psycho judge! No one else in any other job would have been allowed to continue in their bad acts for so long!!
I know several lawyers that have appeared in front of her. Across the board they said the same thing. The only mystery is why it took so song to get her off the bench. And you're correct; Giovan is a class act.
Duane - I actually left out a bit of the stuff I saw because I didn't want it to look like I was being petty. Remind me next time we talk: I've got some great stories for you.
It should not be so hard to get a bad judge off the bench; and they should not be paid in a case like this. In the unlikely event that the judge was cleared of all charges and returned to the bench they could then collect back pay; but to require the taxpayers to continue to pay a dishonest judge, is an insult adding to injury. 13 years at taxpayer expense.
I always learn from your videos, Steve. Thank you. In you final comments about the justice system addressing the problem, I was disappointed in that it seems to take so long for something so obvious to conclude with actionable decisions.
About 15 years ago, we had a judge baker in Portland OR's drunk driving court that was exactly like your judge. she goaded 100's of people up for DUI (plus a few attorneys!!!) into losing all self control and calling her a b**ch, resulting in a sentence of a year in county jail! turns out she was on an assortment of non-prescribed meds and driving drunk and high daily for years!!!
"Suspended Livingston County judge Theresa Brennan is off the bench. In an opinion released late Friday afternoon, the Michigan Supreme Court stated: "Effective immediately, we order that respondent, 53rd District Court Judge Theresa M. Brennan, be removed from office. In addition, we impose a six-year conditional suspension without pay effective on the date of this decision.""
In 1997, I appeared as the plaintiff in an appeal hearing. I was attempting to get my car from my father after my parents' divorce. I had the car, but my father had the title in his name because I was 17 when I bought the car: he required all vehicles in our home to be in his name only. I won the case. He appealed. My attorney said I could handle the case on my own; I had court experience through mock trial in high school and college. But I got a tyrant judge. He berated me with insults and character accusations due to my abhorrent behavior of taking my father to court. He didn't allow me to say or do anything. The judge didn't even ask my father's attorney to present his case. The judge just simply ruled against me and told me I should have been a better son. My attorney was speechless because she knew the judge and knew his reputation but didn't think I'd appear before him. Temperament is his low score from the Iowa Bar Association along with factual interpretation. I concur.
Another great video, Steve. And what a nice surprise -- it was reminiscent of going to the record store decades ago to buy the latest LP by a favorite artist and then finding out that it's a double album!
thank you for takeing the time to tell us this its good to know that no one is out side the law ,i only hope she is never allowed to sit on the bench ever again
There is an old saying that I incorporate into how I go about my daily business, all things done in darkness will eventually come to light. I am old enough to have seen this happen time and again. Someone may think they have out slicked everyone, but they eventually find that they only out slicked themself.
I so hope you're right. When I was a young lass (some folks say I still am: I'm only a Gen-Xer), a very wise customer of mine told me that the only 3 things in life that one could count on are that time will tell, sh** will smell, and water will seek its own level. Hopefully, the first two are as true as the third, but I'm still waiting
The problem with judges is there is no higher authority to evaluate their performance, and I am not talking about disciplining them and whatnot. I mean performance reviews.
When I went to my hearing for my Social Security disability case, the judge had a record of ruling against people's claims a high percentage of the time. So I expected him to be a tough judge who would likely question everything we said to him, and maybe even accuse us of making crap up. I have heard of judges doing that kind of stuff. So I was expecting the worse. So, I go into the hearing and the first thing he says to me is that this is not an adversarial process. We're just trying to get some information. Basically, he wanted to make sure I was comfortable and not distressed by the process. I was wondering if I was being punked or something. The judge was great. I think what it came down to is that he was a tough judge, but he was also fair. He was going to very objectively look at the evidence and render a decision according to the law. If you had a legitimate case, you were going to do well. If not, you were not going to pull the wool over his eyes. Fortunately, I had a strong case, and the hearing went very well. He not only ruled in my favor, but he didn't even challenge the date I claimed to be disabled from.
Wow...this story reminds me of the judge and the Traffic Cop in the 1980's movie "Moving Violations". The only problem is that the material that this guy is reading is real life...WOW!!!!!!!! And I think this woman is mentally imbalanced...anyone else agree?
Schadenfreude is one of my favorite words, though there are lots of German words like that which have no direct English translation. Like the list of German words for "wimp", many of which are very colorful (think Sitzpinkler)
You mention at the end of the video about how well the system eventually worked, but I'm alarmed at how long it took the system to finally solve this problem. Now they have to go back to all of her cases and see if they have to be re-tried, which is going to cost a lot of time and money, not to mention the cases that may be overturned involving people spending time in prison and the resulting lawsuits they file. It's great that she's gone but should it have taken this long?
I am appalled at the length of time it took to address this problem. As far as I am concerned there is no excuse for this. It was common knowledge and everyone turn a blind eye.
Steve - you speak highly of the judicial system at the end. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say the judicial system was a complete failure in this case. How was this allowed to go on for so long? I know the wheels of justice turn slow but, an out of control judge should see speedy justice. Peoples lives depend on it. While I'm not opposed to the death sentence, what would have happened if someone was executed because of her.
A guy I know was going through a custody dispute with his ex wife, the ex wife was a clerk for the court. His ex wife and the judge both openly screwed him pretty badly, they destroyed his case by not filing things and withholding things and just generally being underhanded. His attorney tried to sue but they were given absolute immunity.
...I'm calling bullshit on that. The moment they found out that one party worked for the court, everybody involved needed to recuse themselves - and there's no "absolute immunity" there.
Taxpayers still paying her salary for months since she was removed from the bench. I bet you she will not be sentenced to any jail time, just the way "justice" works in America.
