US Judge Stays on Bench After No Contest Drunk Driving Plea (2)

Michigan federal Judge Thomas L. Ludington pleaded no contest Wednesday to a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge and said afterward that he plans to stay on the bench.

Ludington, of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, entered the plea to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in the 90th Circuit Court in Emmet County, more than two hours north of his Bay City courtroom. A charge of operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of 0.17 was dismissed.

The plea, which court filings signaled last month, comes ahead of a now-scuttled trial date. 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.

Ludington’s attorney, Jonathan B. Steffy of Harris Law, said in a statement that the judge agreed to resolve the case so he and his family can move on.

“This case was not as simple as it appeared to many, but the most important thing now, for all involved, is to move forward,” Steffy wrote. He added that that Ludington “looks forward to continuing to serve the Federal Court at the highest level and focus on his work, along with his wife and family.”

Steffy’s statement also claimed a Luger bullet casing was also found on the front floor of the judge’s car, even though Ludington doesn’t own any guns. The US Marshals Service hasn’t determined how the casing ended up there, the attorney added.

Publicly released police reports make no mention of this, and Steffy didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking more information.

“We do know that the Judge has overseen cases of defendants who have recently ordered the executions of people,” Steffy’s statement said. “We wish we knew for certain.”

Watch: Michigan State Police video of Ludington’s arrest in October 2025.

‘Important Facts’

The judge was arrested last October, though it wasn’t publicized until January. He went on paid leave in February after additional details about his arrest were released.

The President George W. Bush appointee failed multiple field sobriety tests, including one where he was asked to recite a portion of the alphabet during a field sobriety test and he responded with “A, B, C, D, F, U,” according to a Michigan State Police report. He denied drinking anything that night and said he wasn’t sure why his airbags deployed, the report 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.”

Steffy said “important facts” led to a delay in Ludington entering a plea. Police found no alcohol in the judge’s Cadillac, nor any record of him buying or drinking alcohol during his two hours of travel prior to his arrest, the attorney said.

A court-approved behavior health therapist also said the judge doesn’t meet the criteria for even a mild alcohol-abuse disorder, Steffy wrote.

“That fact, coupled with the reality that the Judge has never been in trouble with the law in his life, not even for a parking ticket, shows that this incident was, at its most severe, an isolated event,” the attorney said.

A spokesman for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The case is Michigan v. Ludington, Mich. Dist. Ct., No. 2025-25-0564-SD, plea entered 4/8/26.