Livingston County Judge, guilty of perjury, ordered to serve six months in jail

LIVINGSTON CO. Mich. - Theresa Brennan, the disgraced former judge who was convicted of lying under oath will serve six months in jail.

"I have believed I am worthless, I have believed I will never be deserving of love. Do you not understand, I am broken," said Brennan through tears.

The Livingston County District Court judge spoke in front of a crowd of dozens of people on Friday, many who felt aggrieved by her.

"In the first 10 minutes of my hearing, I lost the rights to my children. This pain right here is worse than what she could ever feel," said Erika Chubb, who appeared in court.

"I went in front of her, she treated me like I was dirt under her feet," said Denice Watts, who also showed up at court on Friday to watch her sentencing.

Brennan's misconduct landed her a removal from the bench in June of 2019, however, the decisions that led to that decision stem back years. Most notably, the Jerome Kowalski case.

Kowalski was convicted of double murder, but Brennan's conduct during the trial granted Kowalski a new trial. She was allegedly in a relationship with a detective who had investigated the case. 

"You know, Jerome will be incarcerated for 12 years in May, and he didn't commit the murders," said Watts.

Another moment of misconduct came from Brennan's own divorce proceedings. State police said she lied during a deposition about erasing data from her phone after her ex-husband had filed for divorce in 2016. 

Brennan had little to say after exiting the courtroom. But while on the stand, she said she had pondered death.

"I am consumed with guilt. I have failed in so many ways. I failed so many people," she said. "My suffering reached a point to where I wondered how to die."

Along with her sentence, Brennan will also serve 18 months of probation. She must report to jail on Jan. 24 at 9 a.m..

She must also complete community service as part of a plea deal, in exchange for having two lesser charges dropped.