The private life of Livingston County District Judge Theresa Brennan is on full display.
Accused of infidelity, she and her estranged husband are in divorce proceedings. In those proceedings, sworn depositions have been given that are raising serious questions about her professional life too.
She is accused of having an affair with Michigan State Police Lt. Sean Furlong. He was lead investigator on a double murder trial she presided over, which led to a conviction and life sentence for Jerome Kowalski.
That conviction is now clouded in controversy.
There is a dispute over when the alleged affair began - during or after the trial.
But there is more.
Today, the 7 Investigators visited the county justice center to review all the depositions associated with the case. What we discovered raises more serious questions.
Lt. Furlong admits under oath he and the judge still meet, even as their alleged affair has clouded her career.
Furlong also admits Judge Brennan would regularly approve search warrants for him. His requests were never denied.
Finally, a bombshell deposition from Judge Brennan’s former law clerk.
She claims the judge, while on the bench, ordered her to book plane tickets for her and Lt. Furlong to fly to Florida for a secret rendezvous.
The clerk complied, on a county computer on county time, she claims.
The clerk also says she was told to perform multiple personal tasks for the judge, from paying her bills, to taking her car to be serviced, to staining her deck.
Much of this while on the clock, again, paid by the county.
The clerk says she feared for her job if she didn’t comply with the judge’s personal demands.
The attorney for Judge Brennan declined comment today, and would not make the judge available for an interview.
The county prosecutor and Michigan State Police are investigating.
