Venable Partner Resigns, Lost Monitor Job Due to Texts With Ex-Detroit Mayor
A white-collar criminal defense partner has resigned from Venable after stepping down in July from her role as an independent monitor of court-mandated Detroit police reforms.
Sheryl Robinson Wood resigned from the law firm effective yesterday, a spokeswoman tells the Detroit Free Press.
Wood, who is a former federal prosecutor, was forced out of her monitoring position by a federal judge in July, according to the newspaper. He took action after text messages came to light that showed she and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick had a personal relationship and sometimes went to dinner together over a period of about a year and a half. The texting reportedly ended in January 2005.
As discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post, Kilpatrick was forced from his job as mayor last year and criminally convicted after other text messages came to light that revealed not only an apparent affair between the then-mayor and a then-top aide, Christine Beatty, but perjured testimony in a police whistle-blower case against the city.
Additional coverage:
Detroit News: “Monitor’s spending rarely questioned”
Detroit Free Press: “Judge wants recommendation for Detroit police monitor by Sept. 30”
On the Record: “Updates on Sheryl Robinson Wood”
