On Monday, September 9, 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court announced that it had accepted the resignation of former Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Michael Turner Brandt amid allegations of misusing funds from a judicial association.
The court’s brief order indicated that Brandt, age 81, had applied for retirement or resignation from practicing law in Ohio. His application was accepted by the high court but noted that it was a resignation with disciplinary action still pending against him. No further details on the disciplinary procedures were provided in the public order.
The allegations stem from Brandt’s role as treasurer of the Association of Municipal and County Judges of Ohio from 2006 to 2022. In this position, he was responsible for collecting the annual $150 dues from approximately 250 judges statewide. However, an audit uncovered that between 2014 and 2022, Brandt withdrew over $35,000 in cash from the association’s accounts through ATM withdrawals, online transfers, and checks made out to himself, according to a complaint filed against him.
More than $16,800 of the misappropriated funds were allegedly used by Brandt for home repairs on properties he owned in West Virginia and Grove City, Ohio. When confronted by the association’s accountant about an undocumented $2,000 check in 2022, Brandt resigned as treasurer and reimbursed $17,000. A full audit then revealed Brandt had taken over $65,000 total during an eight-year time span. He paid an additional $25,000 last October to settle the matter.
Brandt retired from the bench in Franklin County in 2018.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
