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Posted: Jul 13, 2018, 1:00 PM
A trial court judge did not have to disqualify himself from the defendant’s criminal case even though the judge had publicly endorsed the prosecutor in a Circuit Court election campaign, the Michigan Court of Appeals has decided.
Posted: Jul 9, 2018, 2:00 PM
A trial judge should not have stricken a plaintiff’s expert witnesses as a sanction for violating discovery orders, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled, finding that the sanction – which ultimately led to the dismissal of the plaintiff’s medical malpractice case – was too harsh.
Posted: Jul 3, 2018, 1:30 PM
An auto accident victim is entitled to no-fault insurance benefits under his parents’ no-fault policy where the victim’s parents committed insurance fraud after the policy was purchased and already in effect, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled in a 2-1 published decision.
Posted: Jun 25, 2018, 12:30 PM
A prosecutor’s “grossly improper” remarks during closing argument in a child abuse case, which were not corrected by the trial court, constituted deliberate prosecutorial misconduct and “poisoned the proceedings,” the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled, remanding the case for a new trial.
Posted: Jun 19, 2018, 3:30 PM
Livingston County District Court Judge Theresa Brennan is no longer hearing cases amid the release of an explosive misconduct complaint from the Judicial Tenure Commission.
The Judicial Tenure Commission (JTC) is the agency that holds state judges, magistrates and court referees accountable for alleged misconduct.
Posted: Jun 13, 2018, 11:00 AM
A trial court should not have dismissed the plaintiff’s no-fault case with prejudice because of the plaintiff’s “unavailability,” which stemmed from the fact that he was arrested on an outstanding warrant on the first day of trial, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Jun 7, 2018, 10:40 AM
In In re Piland Minors (Docket No. 340754), the mother gave birth to the couple’s third child on February 6, 2017. The couple opted for a home birth, with the assistance of a midwife. The day after the baby was born, the midwife told the parents that the baby was suffering from jaundice. The parents did not take the baby to the doctor, electing to pray for the baby’s good health instead. Three days after she was born, the baby died.
Posted: Jun 1, 2018, 3:30 PM
An appeal involving the entry of a personal protection order (PPO) is not moot just because the PPO expired while the appeal was pending, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled.
In TM v MZ (Docket No. 155398, decided 5/18/18), the Court of Appeals had concluded the appeal on the PPO was moot because the case was argued after the PPO had expired.
Posted: May 29, 2018, 10:30 AM
In a case where the respondent-mother’s parental rights had been terminated, the Michigan Court of Appeals held that her appeal was not moot, even though the child died while the appeal was pending. The reason? Because the respondent-mother faced “collateral legal consequences” as a result of the parental rights termination.
Posted: May 21, 2018, 10:40 AM
The Michigan Court of Appeals has reaffirmed that circuit courts have exclusive jurisdiction over civil rights claims brought under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), regardless of the dollar amount that’s involved.
Posted: May 16, 2018, 1:40 PM
The 11th U.S. Circuit of Appeals recently took several defense lawyers to task in a published opinion, chastising them for persuading the federal district court to defy the 11th Circuit’s remand instructions in the case.
Posted: May 11, 2018, 1:00 PM
Although there was no parenting-time order in place when a grandmother was named the legal guardian of her three grandchildren, the trial court must consider the biological father’s request for a parenting-time plan, in order to protect his parental rights and promote a relationship with him, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: May 9, 2018, 11:45 AM
The Michigan Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Bertin v Mann, Docket No. 155266, on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Instead of hearing arguments in its standard Lansing courtroom, however, the Court held the arguments at Lake Superior State University in front of an audience of approximately 500 students. This is the first time the Supreme Court held court in the Upper Peninsula.
Posted: Apr 27, 2018, 11:30 AM
Two recent Michigan Court of Appeals decisions, if not reversed, may end up hindering direct placement adoptions in Michigan.
The rulings in In re MGR, Minor and In re LMB, Minor are concerning for prospective adoptive parents because they allow putative fathers to stop an adoption in its tracks, simply by obtaining an order of filiation from the trial court.
Posted: Apr 20, 2018, 12:00 PM
A trial court properly took jurisdiction over a mother’s three children after she allegedly coerced one of them into a gender role with which the child did not identify, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled, finding that the mother’s actions constituted “abuse.”
Posted: Apr 16, 2018, 3:10 PM
An employer should not have denied an employee’s request to telecommute during the final 10 weeks of her pregnancy because the request was a “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Apr 3, 2018, 9:49 PM
A recent Georgia Court of Appeals decision resolves a two-year-long jurisdictional dispute between spouses regarding whether, under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), their custody case should proceed in Michigan or Georgia.
Posted: Mar 26, 2018, 9:47 PM
Discrimination based on a person’s transgender status is discrimination based on sex and is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
Posted: Mar 21, 2018, 5:39 PM
It was unconstitutional to retroactively apply Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) to a defendant who, at age 19, had pleaded guilty to a sex offense under a state diversionary statute, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled.
Posted: Mar 14, 2018, 5:58 PM
The three-year time limit for filing a paternity challenge under the Revocation of Paternity Act (RPA) does not apply when the presumed father raises the issue in a divorce action, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.
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