The Bench A Novel

The Bench tells the stories of eight Justices of the Supreme Court of Michigan. Their lives and loves, their politics and peccadilloes, their intrigues and ambitions are all exposed in this tantalizing first novel by author Thomas E. Brennan.

Meet Edward Breitner, the brilliant, ambitious Chief Justice who leads a double life; Alton Henry, the unpredictable curmudgeon and back room manipulator, and Doris Templeton, the feisty liberal who worships Breitner and despises Henry.

Watch kindly old Frederick van Timlin, uneasily approaching retirement, and follow the melancholy machinations of Bob O Leary, the hard drinking war hero. Share the personal tragedy of Hilda Germaine, the Court s first black woman, and the angst of Julia Hudson, the scholarly federal judge who comes to the bench in the midst of it most disturbing crisis.

Finally, you ll come to know Jim Malloy, the sometimes clumsy, always controversial young circuit judge whose election to the high court triggers a series of unexpected, troubling and ambiguous events.

Winners and losers. Victims and survivors., You ll find them all among the fascinating ensemble who occupy The Bench.of five men and three women who wear the black robes of Supreme Court Justices. The Bench The Bench tells the stories Supreme Court of Michigan. Their lives and loves, their politics and peccadilloes, their intrigues and ambitions are all exposed in this tantalizing first novel by author Thomas E. Brennan. Meet Edward Breitner, the brilliant, ambitious Chief Justice who leads a double life; Alton Henry, the unpredictable curmudgeon and back room manipulator, and Doris Templeton, the feisty liberal who worships Breitner and despises Henry. Watch kindly old Frederick van Timlin, uneasily approaching retirement, and follow the melancholy machinations of Bob O Leary, the hard drinking war hero. Share the personal tragedy of Hilda Germaine, the Court s first black woman, and the angst of Julia Hudson, the scholarly federal judge who comes to the bench in the midst of it most disturbing crisis. Finally, you ll come to know Jim Malloy, the sometimes clumsy, always controversial young circuit judge whose election to the high court triggers a series of unexpected, troubling and ambiguous events. Winners and losers. Victims and survivors., You ll find them all among the fascinating ensemble who occupy The Bench.of five men and three women who wear the black robes of Justices of the .

Thomas E. Brennan was born in Detroit on May 27, 1929. He married Pauline Weinberger when they were both students at the University of Detroit. The Brennans have six children, nineteen grandchildren and five great grand children.

After losing five elections, Brennan gained a seat on the Common Pleas Court in 1961. In 1963, he was appointed by Governor George Romney to the Wayne County Circuit Court and in 1964 he was elected to that office. He was elected to the Michigan Supreme Court in 1966 and became Chief Justice in 1969, the youngest ever to hold that post.

In 1973, he left the Supreme Court to establish the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, which is now the largest accredited college of law in the United States.

The Bench, a vanity publication, is Judge Brennan s only incursion into fiction writing. He writes blog which is entitled "Old Judge Says." His opinions on the Michigan Supreme Court are found in Volumes 378 to 391 of the Michigan Supreme Court Reports.

More recently, Judge Brennan has authored a text book on the subject of amending the United States Constitution. Published by Lexington Books, the work in entitled THE ARTICLE V AMENDATORY CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION:Keeping the Republic in the Twenty-First Century. The book describes Convention USA, a citizens initiative on the Internet.