Judicial Misconduct
Judge takes plea deal on drunk driving charges, plans to remain on bench
A Michigan federal judge pleaded no contest Wednesday to a misdemeanor drunk driving charge and said afterward he plans to stay on the bench.
The Detroit News, Bloomberg Law and other news outlets reported that U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington of the Eastern District of Michigan pleaded to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in the 90th Circuit Court in Emmet County, Michigan. A charge of operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.17 was dismissed.
Ludington, 72, is set to be sentenced May 13. He was ordered to undergo a substance abuse assessment and will be the subject of a presentence investigation by the court’s probation department, according to the stories.
The judge could have faced much more serious charges under Michigan law because his blood alcohol level was above 0.17, which is considered “super drunk.” Ludington was arrested in October after crashing his wife’s black Cadillac near his northern Michigan vacation home and hitting two traffic signs on a curved rural road, according to the Detroit News.
Ludington’s attorney, Jonathan B. Steffy of Harris Law, said in a statement the judge agreed to resolve the case, so that he and his family can move on.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
