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When
we
last
checked
in
with
Judge
Thomas
L.
Ludington (E.D.
Michigan),
the
federal
jurist
had
been accused
of
driving
“super
drunk”
and
was
also
staring
down
a
judicial
misconduct
complaint.
Back
in
February,
he
opted
to
take
a
voluntary
leave
of
absence
from
the
bench
while
his
case
moved
forward.
Now,
there’s
an
update:
Ludington
has
entered
a
no
contest
plea
to
a
misdemeanor
drunken-driving
charge
stemming
from
the
October
incident.
The
plea
resolves
the
criminal
case
on
more
limited
terms,
with
prosecutors
dropping
a
higher-level
charge
tied
to
an
elevated
blood
alcohol
content.
Bloomberg
Law
has
additional
details:
Ludington,
72,
is
set
to
be
sentenced
on
May
13.
He
was
ordered
to
undergo
a
substance
abuse
assessment
and
will
be
the
subject
of
a
pre-sentence
investigation
by
the
court’s
probation
department,
Emmet
County
Prosecuting
Attorney
Mike
Schuitema
said.
…In
cases
such
as
Ludington’s,
the
court
usually
puts
a
defendant
on
probation
with
rehabilitation-focused
conditions,
said
Schuitema,
who
added
that
he
expected
that
for
the
judge.“I’m
pleased
with
the
plea,”
Schuitema
said.
“It’s
going
to
hold
Judge
Ludington
accountable
for
what
he
did.”
Ludington
has
signaled
that
he
intends
to
remain
on
the
bench.
His
attorney,
Jonathan
B.
Steffy
of
Harris
Law,
noted
in
a
statement
that
“[t]his
case
was
not
as
simple
as
it
appeared
to
many,
but
the
most
important
thing
now,
for
all
involved,
is
to
move
forward.”
He
went
on,
saying,
that
the
judge
“looks
forward
to
continuing
to
serve
the
Federal
Court
at
the
highest
level
and
focus
on
his
work,
along
with
his
wife
and
family.”
With
a
judicial
misconduct
complaint
still
in
play,
the
focus
now
shifts
to
how
the
judiciary
polices
its
own,
and
whether
the
consequences
here
will
extend
beyond
the
criminal
docket.
US
Judge
Stays
on
Bench
After
No
Contest
Drunk
Driving
Plea
(2)
[Bloomberg
Law]
Earlier: Federal
Judge
Accused
Of
Driving
‘Super
Drunk’
Crashes
Into
Judicial
Misconduct
ComplaintFederal
Judge
Accused
Of
Driving
‘Super
Drunk’
Takes
‘Voluntary’
Leave
From
The
Bench
‘A,
B,
C,
D,
F,
U’:
Field
Sobriety
Test
For
Federal
Judge
Who
Allegedly
‘Urinated
Himself’
Goes
Remarkably
Off
Script
Federal
Judge
Arrested,
Accused
Of
Driving
While
‘Super
Drunk’
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
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