Mary Ellen Brennan
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Mary Ellen Brennan is a judge of the 6th Circuit Court in Oakland County, Michigan. She was elected to the court on November 4, 2008, and assumed office in January 2009.[1][2] On November 4, 2014, Brennan was re-elected unopposed for another six-year term commencing on January 1, 2015, and expiring on December 31, 2020.[3]
Elections
2014
See also: Michigan judicial elections, 2014
Brennan ran for re-election to the 6th Circuit Court.
General: She was unopposed in the general election on November 4, 2014.
[3]
Education
Brennan received her undergraduate degree from James Madison College of Michigan State University and her J.D. degree from the Wayne State University Law School.[1]
Career
- 2009-2020: Judge, 6th Circuit Court
- 2002-2008: Judicial staff attorney, 44th Judicial District Court
- 1998-2002: Assistant city attorney, Royal Oak
- 1996-1998: Assistant general counsel, Meadowbrook Insurance Group
- 1990-1996: Assistant prosecutor, Oakland County [1]
Noteworthy cases
On April 21, 2020, Judge Brennan sentenced a 15-year-old Michigan resident known by the pseudonym Grace to probation for charges of larceny and assault. The charges were originally filed in November 2019. Among the terms of Grace's probation were requirements to speak regularly with a court caseworker and to complete remote schoolwork following the closure of schools due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Prior to her school's closure, Grace had various additional accommodations and supports in place as part of an "Individualized Education Plan." The plan stemmed from Grace's educational needs due to diagnoses of ADHD and a mood disorder, and Grace's mother told media reporters that Grace did not receive these supports in a remote learning environment.[4]
On May 5, the caseworker assigned to Grace filed a probation violation against Grace, alleging that she was not completing her schoolwork in a timely manner. ProPublica reported that the caseworker contacted Grace's teacher for the first time three days after filing the probation violation to ask if Grace was completing her academic requirements, and that Grace's teacher responded by saying that Grace was "not out of alignment with most of my other students."[4] On May 14, Brennan ruled that Grace had violated her probation on the grounds of "failure to submit any schoolwork and getting up for school." Brennan ordered Grace's detention; Grace was subsequently placed in secure detention for three weeks at an institution and later moved to residential treatment within the institution.[5]
Attorneys representing Grace and her mother requested that Grace be released from detention, saying that Grace did not receive sufficient academic support and mental health treatment at the facility where she was detained. A statement from the case's prosecutor also argued for Grace's release. Statements from Grace's caseworker and staff at the facility argued that Grace should stay in the institution until reaching completion of the treatment program.[5] On July 20, Brennan declined to release Grace from detention and said that though "This is not an easy decision to make," she thought Grace was "exactly where she was supposed to be."[6] In the hearing, Brennan said of her decision to order Grace's detention, "She was not detained because she didn’t turn her homework in. She was detained because I found her to be a threat of harm to her mother based on everything I knew."[5]
Grace's detention received national attention from media sources and the public. The group Michigan Liberation organized a protest outside Grace's school and the Oakland County courthouse in response to Brennan's decision to decline the request for release.[7] A Change.org petition demanding Grace's release also circulated online.[8] The Michigan Supreme Court issued a statement in July that the court "is working with the Oakland County Circuit Court to examine the processes in this case."[9]
On July 31, 2020, the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered Grace's release from the juvenile detention center. Judge Brennan "adopted a caseworker’s recommendation that Grace be released from probation and that her case be closed" on August 11, 2020.[10]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Oakland County, "Hon. Mary Ellen Brennan," accessed December 16, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2008 Election Results: 6th Circuit Court Non-Incumbents," accessed December 16, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michigan Secretary of State, "2014 Official Michigan Primary Candidate Listing," accessed July 9, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 ProPublica Illinois, "A Teenager Didn’t Do Her Online Schoolwork. So a Judge Sent Her to Juvenile Detention." July 14, 2020
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 ProPublica Illinois, "Judge Won’t Free Michigan Teenager Sent to Juvenile Detention After Not Doing Online Schoolwork," July 20, 2020
- ↑ CBS News, "Michigan judge tells girl detained after not doing homework, "You're exactly where you're supposed to be"," July 22, 2020
- ↑ New York Times, "Judge Declines to Release Girl, 15, Held for Skipping Online Schoolwork," July 21, 2020
- ↑ BBC News, " Michigan judge refuses to free girl in missed homework case," July 21, 2020
- ↑ Michigan Radio, "Pressure mounts to free 15-year-old Black girl imprisoned for not doing homework," July 18, 2020
- ↑ ProPublica Illinois, "Case Closed: Michigan Judge Removes Grace, Black Teen Jailed for Not Doing Online Schoolwork, From Probation," August 11, 2020
