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Brennan Removed From Bench
 A Livingston County judge accused of failing to disclose a relationship with a police officer during a murder case and other misconduct has been removed from hearing cases.

County Chief Judge Miriam Cavanaugh said Wednesday that Theresa Brennan's caseload has been removed and reassigned until further notice. The district court was closed Wednesday while judges worked through rearranging their dockets to accommodate the new cases, but will reopen today. The move follows Tuesday's filing of a 66-page complaint against Brennan by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission. Investigators say Brennan had 239 phone calls with state police Sgt. Sean Furlong over a 14-month period while Furlong was involved in a murder case before the judge.

Testimony during her divorce indicated the pair had been involved in a sexual relationship before, during and after the 2013 trial of Jerome Kowalski, who was convicted and sentenced to life by Brennan after Furlong served as the prosecutionâs chief witness. They have since acknowledged an affair but insist it started after the trial. The complaint also says Brennan's secretary shopped for her and ran personal errands on public time.

Brennan hasn't commented since the complaint was filed. But the chorus of local leaders calling on her to resign has grown in the last week, starting with State Senator Joe Hune last week and State Representatives Hank Vaupel and Lana Theis this week, along with six Livingston County Commissioners and others. (JK)

