The Illusion Of 'Good Behavior' In The U.S. Judiciary
U.S. District Judge's 'Super Drunk' crash ends in sweetheart deal that permits him to avoid admitting guilt. He announces plans to get back to work on the Michigan bench. Perfectly normal, right?
The steaming hypocrisy of the U.S. court system was evident yet again last week when a federal judge in Michigan was allowed to accept a plea deal that could permit him to return to work after a notorious drunk driving incident.
Instead of being held to a higher standard, it appears that U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington, 72, was held to a lower standard.
Ludington faced 180 days in jail and a one-year license suspension under Michigan’s ”Super Drunk” statute after his black Cadillac crashed into several street signs near his $2.7 million lakefront vacation home on Oct. 3. His blood alcohol content was 0.27 percent.
According to police body camera footage, Ludington denied having anything to drink. When asked to recite part of the alphabet, he said, “A, B, C, D, E, F, U.” When asked to pick a number between 19 and 21, he picked 15. He could not track the officer’s finger movements and had urinated in his pants. He had no memory of the car airbags deploying, or striking the signs. He refused to blow into the breath analyzer.
Despite informing officers that he is a federal judge, Michigan police arrested Ludington.
Last week, Ludington’s attorney, Jonathan Steffy, revealed for the first time that police found a shell casing from a Luger gun on the front floor of Ludington’s car. Steffy offered no explanation, claiming Ludington doesn’t own a gun. Steffy did not explain why Ludington told police, at the scene, that he had lots of weapons in the car.
The DUI charge was not publicly disclosed for four months, and Ludington returned to work as if nothing happened.
Questions arise. Did Ludington notify his employer — the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan — of the DUI charge? Did the Court cover it up? Did police cover it up?
The Detroit News found out about DUI in January, prompting the Court to announce that Ludington would be “voluntarily” taking a paid leave of absence “pending resolution of the state legal matter.” Except for a whistleblower, the incident would likely still be secret.
‘No Contest’
Michigan state court Judge Angela Lasher last week allowed Ludington to enter a plea agreement reducing the charge to a lower level misdemeanor — the same offense that is imposed on standard DUI offenses where the driver has a blood alcohol content from 0.08% to 0.17%.
