Federal judge in Michigan charged with drunken driving after car strikes signs

PETOSKEY, Mich. — A federal judge in Michigan suspected of drunken driving uttered a vulgarity at a state trooper and couldn't explain damage to his car or why his airbags had deployed, according to video of the arrest.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington was arrested Oct. 3 after a trooper said he had repeatedly failed to properly blow into a blood-alcohol device, body-camera video obtained by The Detroit News shows.

“What in the hell are we doing?” Ludington, in handcuffs, said as he was placed in a patrol car.

“You're under arrest,” the trooper replied.

A blood test subsequently showed Ludington had a blood-alcohol level of 0.27, police said, well above the legal limit of 0.08. Ludington was charged with operating a car while intoxicated. The case is pending in Emmet County.

A message seeking comment from Ludington's lawyer was not immediately returned Friday.

Ludington told the trooper that he hadn't been drinking, adding at one point: "Actually, I'm a federal judge.”

Ludington, 72, has been a federal judge in Bay City, Michigan, for about 20 years. He has remained on the bench in the months since his arrest.

Police arrived after a witness reported seeing a car crash into two signs.