Judge's divorces and a brand new format of statutes of limitations on discipline against judges, but not attorneys. A Michigan story.

All states (as I have heard from readers of this blog and based on my own research) claim that there is no statute of limitations on attorney discipline.

The same, of course, should apply to the regulators of attorneys - judges - whose misconduct can and do result in much more dire injuries to the public and to individual parties.

Yet, in the blessed state of Michigan, proposals for new rules have been reportedly introduced imposing a short statute of limitations upon discipline of judges, prohibiting even INVESTIGATIONS of judges past the "statute of limitations".

And that is extraordinary.

Because in all states, statutes of limitations are also "affirmative defenses", to be raised after the investigations are completed and after the charges are already filed - and such a defense may be waived if not timely raised by the charged party.

For judges, the invented new format of statute of limitations is different, not only because it was introduced (while statute of limitations for attorney discipline, imposed by Michigan judges, does not exist), but because it will prohibit even to investigate them past the statute of limitations.

That said, the proposed rule might not (if applied honestly) help #MichiganJudgeTheresaBrennan

to escape investigation of misconduct - because it was not discoverable within the statute of limitations.

The only people privy to that misconduct was the judge, the prosecution witness who kept mum, and the judge's now-estranged husband who was under spousal privilege when he was married, but voluntarily disclosed that the judge (1) had an affair with a prosecution witness during a murder trial;  (2) talked to that prosecution witness during that murder trial.

So, it is important for judges not to divorce their spouses.

They know too much and, if pissed, can reveal it.

And, once again, the Michigan Supreme Court, the one that is regulating lawyers and appears to be regulating its own conduct, too, is considering whether to allow to even investigate complaints filed against judges 3 years after the alleged offense "unless upon a good cause shown".

More incentive for judges in Michigan to be even more secretive in their misconduct than they are now, so that they are protected from discipline completely.

By the way, federal judges invented an even better solution - .they lobbied the U.S. Congress for the Judicial Disability Act, which prohibits discipline of judges completely if misconduct occurred in relation to a court case.

Judge Brennan reportedly had an affair with a prosecution witness and had ex parte communications with her lover during a murder trial.

So, had Judge Brennan been a federal judge, a complaint against her would have been tossed, statute of limitations or no statute of limitations.

Michigan should learn from the best (subverters of law) - the federal judiciary.